Omega
by Zombie
Summary: A story about a military group who have to escape from a zombie infested island, but will it be worth it if they do? Please R
1. Begining of a Nightmare

OMEGA  
Written by Chris English  
  
After reading this, you may wonder why this is in the resident evil section, because no mention of the game is in here anywhere. That's because I based this story on the resident evil games to avoid any complications with dead characters or future plots. I remembered some people may get confused after someone wrote a reveiw asking why there was no reference to the games. Just read it as a story, and if you want it to be a resident evil story, just change the character names.  
  
CHAPTER 1  
  
Alfred Willow swiped his security key card through the thin slot. The small LED beside it changed from red to blue. He tapped in six numbers on the panel on the other side of the small lights. The tiny light turned to green. Willow pushed the door open and walked through.  
He was a scientist, working on special chemicals to prevent soldiers from feeling pain. He was on a breakthrough. After years of hard work and failures, he had finally found it. A chemical that would shut down the part of the brain that registers pain. And it was a complete accident. All this time, the chemical he had tried so painstakingly hard to create had been in the forest of the island all this time. Willow found this mildly amusing. He smiled slightly, then his face returned to its unemotional state.  
Willow didn't really feel much emotion anymore. Not since Stacie was killed. He had got home four evenings ago, and found his house in a mess. Like someone was searching for something. The chemical most probably. Everything was on the floor or broken. He had stepped into the kitchen. Stacey was there, propped up against a cupboard. Her chest had five bullet holes in it, her forehead had one. Her blood was on most of the walls, her body was still bleeding. Her eyes stared blankly at him, cutting through him, making him feel ill. He had fell to his knees, crying heavily. She hadn't known about his work. She had no involvement. But they killed her anyway. The bastards had murdered the woman he loved.   
Willow snapped out of it. Soon they would pay. Yes, they would pay for their cold act against him. After many tests, he had created a vaccine against the virus. The successful tests he decided to destroy. Only he would survive the plague. His plague. He walked over to a metal sheet on the wall and pressed a button. It rose, revealing a clear sheet of thick plastic. Behind it, four men were aimlessly wandering around. The virus had not only destroyed the parts of the brain feeling pain and emotion, but all other parts as well. There was no intelligence, no ultimate goal. Their skin had started to peel off in large chunks. They were decomposing.   
Although immune to the virus, he still had to be extremely careful. They ate living creatures, including humans. Willow always carried a .440 Magnum with him. 8 shots. The only way to kill them was a shot to the head or decapitation. Once the brain had lost contact with any part of the body, it could not operate it. He had kept a small amount of the cure in case he needed more.  
The virus was transmitted by blood. If it entered the blood stream, it took about three hours to take effect. The bodies would decompose And eventually the zombie would die. It had a life span of only four weeks. But that was plenty. The island of Johnston Atoll would cease to be populated in just over a week. Willow lifted his finger above a button. It would send the virus carrying monsters out of their cages, around the whole building. The zombies would do their work. He smiled again. "Goodnight, everybody!" he joked to himself. His finger touched down on the button.  
  
Frank Smith stepped into his house. The room was pitch black. He turned the light switch on and a pool of brightness lit up the room. He threw his keys to the table and they missed the side, jangling as they hit the ground. Frank didn't care about picking the keys up as he didn't need to go to work tomorrow.   
He walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. He looked to see what he had. It was mostly empty. Only two pints of milk, a half block of cheese, three pieces of bacon and a few mushrooms. Frank tapped a rythm on the top of the fridge door as he looked at the remaining food. "Great." he said sarcastically to himself. He took out a pint of milk and poured a third of it into a glass before putting it back. He drunk a mouthful and walked back to the living room. He switched the television and computer on. He flicked through the channels to find something worth watching. 'Day of the Dead' had just started, so he left it on that.  
Frank sat in front of his computer and logged on to the net. He went to a web page which demanded a user name and pass-code. A restricted site which he knew held a secret. Depending on the size of the secret, he would need to be good. But there wasn't a system he couldn't bust into.  
It had taken him seven minutes to break the first three codes. He could hear the movie in the background. He looked at the clock. He had twenty minutes before the military arrived. Frank broke through the last code. He stuck in a floppy disk and clicked on the copy button before reading what he had just found.   
Frank stared at the stream of gibberish. They where either a foreign language rarely used, or just random letters to piss him off. "Shit." he murmured. The words finished copying to the floppy and Frank ejected it. He switched the computer off and turned around. He grabbed his jacket from the armchair and knelt down beside the table to pick up his car keys. They where gone.  
"Looking for these?" said a voice behind Frank. He turned around to come face to face with a tall, brown haired man. The intruder was holding Frank's keys in the air.  
"Who the hell are you?" Frank asked. The man pulled his identification from his pocket.  
"Agent Stanton, FBI." said the man calmly. Frank suddenly knew he'd been rumbled.   
I am not going down for this though. Not today.  
Frank moved his hand to the table and picked up his gun. Agent Stanton was quicker though, and had his gun aimed at Frank before he could take it out. "Don't try it." he said, still calm. Frank relaxed his arm. Agent Stanton walked over to him and grabbed the gun, then handcuffed Frank. "Let's go." he said and pushed Frank out of his house and into the black car. He opened the passenger door at the back and pushed Frank in. Agent Stanton got in the driver's side. He started the car up and drove away from the house.  
  
Michelle Hays stepped out of the supermarket into the blistering sun. She had to shelter her eyes as she walked into it with her free hand. She lowered it, and walked down the street.  
As she did, someone suddenly screamed. It sounded as if it was coming from around the next corner. Cautiously, Michelle walked slowly round the corner to see what was going on.  
In the middle of the road, someone was crouching over another person. It was hard to tell what was going on. "Hey, you need a hand?" called Michelle. The crouching person turned its head slowly, then stood up. Michelle dropped her shopping as the man staggered towards her.  
His face was decaying, some parts had dropped off, leaving the bone visible. It seemed to have no intelligence at all. Michelle ran back down the street to warn people what she had seen, but as she got halfway there, more screams rang out, and people started running down the street towards her.  
As they go closer, Michelle turned to see the man still following her, along with three others. "What the hell is going on?" Michelle asked herself. She turned 90 degrees and ran into a nearby house. She closed the door and locked it, then ran for the back door. She locked it as well, then ran up the stairs and shut herself in a room, blocking the door with whatever she could.  
  
Agent Dan Stanton had been driving for about thirty minutes now. His suspect hadn't spoken at all throughout the journey. He was wanted for murder on three separate occasions, as well as hacking into top secret government files. He had been on this case now for two months, and soon he would have closed it and could be given a new case to work on. He was currently working alone, and was hoping to be working with someone next time. Then he would have someone to talk to, and also not have to do all the work.   
He took his concentration off the road for a second, but in that short period of time someone stumbled in front of the car. Dan saw it too late and tried to stop, but his car slammed into the body with a hard crunch. The person flew over the car and landed on the road behind them. It didn't move.  
Dan stopped the car and opened the door. He looked at Frank, who was confused as to what happened. "Don't move." he said. Frank stared out of the back window silently. Dan decided that the body was more important than getting a simple promise from a murderer and ran over to the person in the road. He checked for a pulse, then felt something soft and sticky.  
He pulled his fingers out of the corpse's neck and looked at the bloody mess on his hand. He looked at the body puzzled, and it suddenly grabbed his head. He managed to jump out of it's grip as it tried to bite his skull. Dan turned and ran to the car. He got into the drivers seat and twisted the key in the ignition. It tried to start up but couldn't.  
"Shit! What the hell is that?" Frank yelled.  
"I don't know!" Dan yelled back. Suddenly the car started, and Dan went hell for leather down the street, leaving the thing behind.  
  
Jake Foreman sat at the bar silently. He often came here. Not for any particular reason, but being alone helped. He either came here, or stayed at home. He did know someone he'd thought of asking out. She was in the group of Marines he was situated with. He met her there a couple of years before, and became good friends. They had saved each other on numerous accounts. It seemed she liked him a bit more than friends, as well.   
He downed his shot of whiskey in one go, and knocked on the wooden bar, signalling for another. The bartender walked over to him. "I think you've had enough, mate." he said. Jake lifted his head up.  
"I think you maybe right." he said, his voice tone altering during the sentence. He stood up and turned around to leave. "See ya tomorrow." he said to the bartender.  
"I'll save your space." replied the large balding man as he wiped a glass with a cloth.  
"Oh, would you? I'd be ever so grateful." He staggered slightly to the exit. He walked to where he usually parked his car, then remembered he drove it into a tree a few days ago. "Oh yeah," he said to himself. He lit a cigarette, then walked down the road in the direction of his apartment.   
Along the way, he noticed a group of about three men, about his age, approaching him. Jake ignored them at first, until the middle one came forward. He was apparently the leader. "Hey, you got any money?" he asked gruffly.  
"Yeah. In the bank." Jake replied sarcastically. The leader seemed surprised at Jake's uncooperative actions. He took a step forward.  
"Have you got any on you is what I meant." he stated angrily. Jake looked into his eyes.  
"Yeah. Why?" he replied.  
"Give it here, and you won't get killed." said the leader, sounding a slight bit pleased at his success. Jake kept looking at him. Then smiled slightly.  
"Just try it." he replied, not moving at all. The leader was now angry, that was clear. He stepped back and spoke calmly.  
"It ain't a good idea to piss me off. Because when I get pissed off, people end up in one of two places. A hospital or a cemetery. Which one will it be?"  
Jake took the cigarette out of his mouth, dropped it on the cold pavement and squashed it with his boot. He looked up at the thug. "It ain't a good idea to piss me off, either. Because you'll only go one place. The cemetery. So get outta my site, fat-ass." The man turned to his gangster buddy to his right.  
"Cut this son of a bitch up." he said, a slight smile on his face. The man flicked open his pen knife and thrust the blade at Jake's chest. Jake dodged the attack, grabbed the mans arm and twisted it behind his back. The man cried out as Jake snapped the bone in his arm.  
The second man ran up behind him, also holding a penknife. As he was about to swing at him, Jake spun round and kicked him in the ribcage. The attacker let go of the knife as he flew through the air. Jake grabbed it and swung round. The blade knocked the leader's knife clean out of his hand. He watched it land on the road, out of reach. Then he faced Jake, and saw his fist come crashing into his face.  
Jake sent the leader tumbling backwards, blood starting to gush from his broken nose. Without checking to see if they were all right, Jake carried on walking home. "They only come out at night." he mocked.  
  
Jake opened the door and walked into his apartment. He walked over to the table and slapped a clip into the unloaded gun he was carrying. He put the gun on the table and lay on the coach. He flicked the TV on using the remote control. He took his jacket and shirt off, then his sneakers. He hadn't got any decent socks now. He flicked through the channels and stopped on one at random. It was a stand up comedy show. He wasn't sure when it started, or who it was, but he left it on. The picture from the television lighted up the unlit room with a blue-grey light.   
Jake watched the show for a while, and found it genuinely funny. He looked in the TV guide and noted down the name of the show on the back of his hand. He decided to watch it again next week. When it finished, he turned the TV off, and the room fell dark again. Jake closed his eyes and tried to sleep.  
  
Michelle opened the door to the bedroom she'd been hiding in for ages. She could hear the people outside screaming as whatever had taken seige of the town attacked them. She peered down the landing and saw nothing. She walked slowly out of the room, keeping silent so she could hear anything. The house sounded deserted, which was a good sign. She looked in each room to see if anything was in them. Nothing. She walked to the top of the stairs and looked down. She slowly descended them. As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she decided that nothing was in the house, so she was safe for now.  
After searching the house, she found little of any use. There was food, but she wasn't hungry. The television wasn't working, all it showed was fuzzy black and white lines. She looked around the room and found some movies. She looked through them, and chose Cliffhanger. She put the video cassette in the machine and pressed play. She used the remote to turn the sound right down, so she could just hear it.  
The film was just over a third of the way through when Michelle heard gunfire outside. It sounded like shotgun blasts. She stood up and peered out of the window. She saw a man outside firing at the crazy people who were killing everyone. She ran to the front door and unlocked it. She opened it. "In here!" she shouted. The man spun his head around to see her, fired again, then ran into the house. Michelle slammed the door and locked it whilst the man grabbed a table and cabinet, and he blocked the door with it. The people outside tried to get in, but couldn't break the door down. After a while, they gave up.  
The man walked into the living room and fell backwards onto the couch. Michelle walked in and sat in an armchair, watching him as he rubbed his face and groaned. "Are you alright?" she finaly asked.  
"Yeah." he replied. He sat up and extended his hand towards her. "Name's Pete. Pete Thorpe." he said. Michelle took his hand and shook it.  
"Michelle Hays." she said. Pete smiled, then layed back into the couch. "What's going on?" she asked.  
"Something bad." Pete replied. "Very bad."  
  
The phone rang suddenly, and Jake woke up quickly. He picked up the receiver and put it next to his ear. "Hello?"  
"Hey, it's me!" came the reply. The caller said it so loud Jake had to had to block the earpiece to stop himself going deaf.  
"Rob. What is it?"  
"Just got a call. We have to go to base. It's urgent."  
"Why?"  
"Don't Know. Just have to be there at 2:20." Jake looked at his watch.  
"It's Ten past Nine now. Come round and pick me up around 12:30."  
"Sure. Wait a minute, what happened to your car?" Rob asked.  
"I sort of crashed it. Into a tree."  
"Dick head."   
Rob put the phone down. Jake laid down again and laughed. He got up off the coach and took a cigarette from a packet on the table. He picked up a box of matches and opened it. None left. "Godammit." he murmured. He walked over to his cooker and turned on a grill pan. When it glowed red, Jake pressed the end of his cigarette on it, still holding it in his mouth. It glowed and Jake lifted his head up. He stood in that spot, breathing the smoke in and out. He walked over to the bathroom and ran water into the basin. He had a piss while the sink filled up, then got a disposable razor out of a plastic case. He smeared shaving cream onto his chin and lower face. He dipped the razor in the water and shaved his face.  
As he nearly finished, he cut his face and blood started to run from the cut. It was a bad cut. He ignored it and finished shaving and washed his face. The blood washed off, but more seeped out. He wiped it off with his arm and pulled the plug out of the sink. The water gurgled and disappeared down the hole on the centre of the basin.  
He walked into the main room and picked his cigarette up out of the ashtray, which was starting to fill up. He had only just recently started smoking. He decided to leave his cigarettes behind. Maybe he'd try and quit.   
He stubbed the burning stick out and put it back in the ashtray. He put his shirt, jacket and sneakers back on. He opened the fridge and picked up the half-full bottle of beer he had started drinking three days ago. He drunk from it and waited for Rob to arrive, then when he did, Jake took his cigarettes with him.  
  
They got to base just in time. Captain Joseph Edwards had just started briefing the team on there mission. "Here's what we know," he started. "At approximately one o' clock in the morning, Friday 23 July, communication was lost with Johnston Atoll." Jake raised his arm. "What is it, Foreman?"  
"I don't know if I've missed anything important, but who is this 'Johnston Atoll'? I never heard of him."  
"Johnston Atoll is not a person, it's an Island off the coast of Australia." Jake nodded.  
"Fair enough." he said. Edwards spoke again.  
"Anyway, we sent a special unit in to investigate. Two days later, we received this transmission." Captain Edwards turned round and pressed the play button on the cassette player.   
The tape was a little fuzzy and hard to hear what was being said in some parts, but everyone got the picture of what was being played.   
It said: "This is Commander Robinson. All my team are dead. We were attacked... by creatures. Most looked like people, but they were rotting away. I was almost sick. We opened fire, but they kept on coming at us. We tried to retreat, but we were surrounded by these... things. Me and a few people got out alive, only to find more of those monsters. I was bitten by one just twenty minutes ago, a large chunk of flesh being ripped off by this bastard's teeth. I was the only one who got out alive. But now something just as strange is happening. I am getting a fever, and feeling itchy, but my skin is starting to decompose..."   
A large crashing sound suddenly sounded on the cassette, making some of the team jump.   
"Oh, shit!" were the last actual words on the tape. The rest were horrifying screams and the sound of ripping skin tissue, blood splattering over the walls, and the chewing of flesh. Suddenly the tape went dead, and all that could be heard was deep breathing and quiet moaning. Then, without warning, a sound like shattering glass tore through the silence, and the tape crackled then stopped.  
Every member of the team fell silent and a slight flicker of horror appeared on their faces, except from Captain Edwards who had obviously heard the recording before. "As you may have worked out, it is up to us to find out what happened to Commander Robinson and his team, why communication has been lost and what the hell is going on." said the captain almost calmly as if nothing had happened. There was a short silence before he carried on. "As we are not entirely sure of what we shall be facing when we get there, it is extremely important you stay frosty. It is possible that some locals have gone insane due to no contact with the rest of the world. This could explain the appearance of the skin rotting where they have clawed at there face or shit like that."  
"What about the eating people bit?" Jake asked suddenly. Edwards looked at him.  
"Shut up." he answered. Jake shrugged.  
"What? What did I say?"  
Captain Edwards turned round to face the team. "We leave in one hour. Get ready and get on the carrier." He looked at Jake. "Don't be late."  
"Wouldn't dream of it, sir." replied Jake.  
"OK, dismissed."   



	2. A Doomed Mission

CHAPTER 2  
  
It was roughly three hours later that the small island of Johnston Atoll came into view of the carrier. It was dark, around 11.00 at night on the island. Jake held his automatic. A 9 mm beretta. He checked the clip, then smacked it back in. Jake looked out of the window of the 'copter. "There don't look like nothings going on down there," he said, placing his handgun in it's holster. He concentrated on a part of the island, but couldn't make out much thanks to the distance and the darkness. Only a few lights could be seen from the transport. "Hey, Rob, pass us one of those night-vision goggles will ya." He stuck his arm out in his friends direction, not looking at him.  
"Why?" asked Rob, looking curious.  
"I just wanna have a look at what we could be up against." Rob took a pair of NVGs and handed them to Jake. "Cheers." He put them on his head and turned them on. He could see everything clearly now, except for the green shading. He still couldn't make out much due to the area being such a long way away. "Do you get some sort of zooming-in type thing on these?" He asked Rob.  
Rob, who now had a pair in his hands, pushed the button on the side of the goggles. "Yeah, you press that."  
"Oh. Thanks." Replied Jake, now messing about with it 'till he got the right view. He could see nothing living on the island. After looking around for a while he gave up looking and sat back down in his seat. "Shit. This is gonna be one boring mission." He rubbed his eyes and face. He looked at the other Marines. They were either loading their weapons or talking to each other. He looked at the Marine in front of him.   
Anna noticed Jake looking at her. She knew him pretty well. They were friends. It seemed that Jake wanted to get closer.  
Yeah, and you don't?  
She decided that when this mission was over, she'd start to see if there was anything between them.  
"You all right?" Jake asked her. The question almost came as a surprise, and she quickly had to decide what to say.  
"Yeah. You?"  
"Yup." Jake said. "Not so bad." He looked at his watch. 11:17 p.m.. Jake laid back on the inside of the aircraft and lit a cigarette. He offered one to Anna. She took one from the packet, and Jake lit it for her.  
"Thanks." she said.  
"No problem." Jake replied. Suddenly, without warning, the gunship rocked violently, nearly throwing Jake of his seating. When it died down a bit, Jake asked the pilot "What the hell was that?"  
"Just a bit of turbulence, ladies." the pilot said over the radio. "Nothing to worry about. Estimate time of arrival now 27 minutes."   
  
It was still dark when they landed on the beach of the island. They all got out of the carrier and, under order of Captain Edwards, set up camp there. It had been a long journey and most of the team was tired, so it didn't take most of the Marines long to fall asleep. Jake walked over to Anna. "Hi." he said, nearly as a whisper.   
She looked up at him. "Hi." Jake sat down beside her.  
"What do ya reckon, then? Is this gonna be a shit mission?" he asked, smiling at slightly at her. She smiled back, only more obviously. Jake liked her. Not only was she good looking, she had a sense of humour as well. He had thought about asking her out. But he was afraid she'd say no. Something like that can really screw up a friendship.  
"I reckon so. The other missions were." she said. "But it could be very exciting. I mean, you heard the tape, right?" She didn't sound scared. She liked danger.  
"I heard it. It was weird. What do you reckon it was?"  
"A lion, maybe?"  
"Out here? Nah. Probably a dog or something." Anna looked into Jake's eyes. . She opened her mouth to say something. A scream echoed in the air around them. An inhuman scream, like a banshee. It was far away, but now they felt a slight bit scared. They stood up.  
"What the shit...?" Jake whispered to Anna. She was as baffled as he was.  
"Hell if I know." She whispered. Captain Edwards spoke loudly.  
"Nobody panic. It's probably just a dog." He said, not a hint of fright in his voice.  
"Sure ain't no Goddamn dog." Jake whispered.  
"Some of us will stay awake a while to keep watch. Then some others will take our place. We'll wake you if you are needed. Now get some rest." Edwards walked over to a small group of Marines.   
"Good advice." Jake said. He and Anna laid on the ground. "Night." he said, then closed his eyes.  
"Night" she replied. She smiled then closed her eyes.  
  
Jake awoke to feel something tapping his arm. He focused his blurred sight on the man. It was Captain Edwards. "C'mon, man. You're gonna help keep watch. You and Anna."  
Jake rubbed his eyes. "Lucky us." he groaned. He rolled over and shook Anna. She woke up and instantly took her gun out, aiming for him. "Woah! Don't shoot!" Anna looked at him.  
"Sorry. Bad dream." she said. She sat up, then Jake did.   
"We've been volunteered for the second shift." he said. Anna groaned, and rubbed her eyes as well.   
"OK." she said after a while. They stood up and walked to the edge of the camp. Edwards laid down and went to sleep. Another couple of Marines were on the other side of the site keeping watch. Anna and Jake walked around a small area.  
"So, what were you dreaming about?" Jake asked. Anna gave him a curious look.  
"Why do you wanna know what I dream about?" she asked.  
"I'm just wondering. You said you had a bad dream."   
"Oh. It... It was nothing, really. Just one of those strange dreams when you're being chased by something you can't see." she said, slightly embarrassed. "You must think it's pretty stupid."  
"No. I don't." he said. Anna looked at him again.  
"What do you dream about?"  
"I don't dream."  
"Everyone dreams. What do you dream about?"  
"I don't dream. If I do, I'm not aware of it."  
"You're just embarrassed."  
"No I'm not."  
"Yes you are."  
"Piss off. I am not." Jake laughed slightly. They kept watch to see if anything happened. Jake looked at his watch. They had just over an hour to kill. Then the sun would rise, and they would all set of to the nearest town. Jake had a feeling deep inside him that whatever made that noise, they were sure to find it soon.  
"Have you ever..." Anna started. Jake looked at her.  
"Have I ever...?"  
"Have you ever... I know it's a strange question but, erm..."  
"What?" Jake asked smiling.  
Something moved in the bushes nearby. Jake noticed it, and raised his machine gun. Anna looked at the bushes, neither of them moving. "What is it?" she asked, her voice as quiet as possible. Jake took a step forward.  
"I don't know yet." he said, trying not to let the fright appear in his voice show. The thing moved again. Anna saw it this time. She also raised her gun. They both aimed at the thing as it moved to the edge of the bushes. It came into view and saw the guns pointed at it.  
"Hey, hold your fire!" said a young, black skinned male, dressed in the same gear as the Marines. Jake recognised him.   
"Scott, what the hell're you doin' back here? You scared the shit out of me." Scott gave him a relaxed look.   
"When you gotta go..." He looked at the pair, and his facial expression changed to an amused one. "What are you two doing?"   
"Keeping watch." said Anna, not unkindly. "You'd better get some sleep."  
"Yes, ma'am." Scott joked, saluting her. Anna didn't know him, but she could tell he liked making people laugh. Or at least trying to. He walked of to join a group of Marines in the camp.  
Jake and Anna kept walking around. Anna looked down at Jake's hand and saw something written on it. "What does that say?" she asked, pointing at the words. Jake looked at his hand.  
"Oh, it's a show I watched a couple of nights ago. It's so I remember to watch it again." he explained. It was a strange conversation, but it kept them occupied.  
"Why? Can't you remember any TV shows you like?"  
"I don't watch the tube that often. I normally go down pub."  
"Really. I don't normally watch a lot of TV either. Never anything good on."  
"That's why I go down the pub." They kept talking until the sun rose out of the sea.  
  
Michelle woke up to the sound of loud moans and smashing. She looked around the living room. Pete wasn't there. "Pete?" she called, walking into the kitchen. He was standing, looking out of the window. "What's going on?" she asked.  
"They know we're still here." he replied. He then passed the shotgun to Michelle. She took it and looked at it. "Take it." he ordered, removing a pistol from his belt.  
"But..." she started.  
"Go upstairs. Block the door." he told her. He then took a cd from his pocket. "Take this too." he said. "It's about what's going on." She took it.  
"You can't stay down here alone." she insisted.  
"I'm fine. Just go upstairs and block the door." Pete repeated. Michelle stood were she was for a moment, then ran up the stairs. Pete watched her go, then checked to see if the gun was loaded. As he did, he realised that a group of the things were crashing through the window and grabbing onto him.  
  
In the morning, the Marines set off to the coastal town. It wasn't far away, so they got there quickly. When they got to the town, everything was quiet. Not even any wildlife noises were heard. They slowly walked down a road. Captain Edwards turned round and spoke to all of them. "OK, split up into fours and search this town. See if any of the first team are here."   
Everyone got into their groups and went down different roads and buildings. Jake and Anna, along with Mike and Rob, went down a long alleyway. They each had a Submachine gun each.   
They reached a house, but the door was broken down. Mike went inside first, then Rob, Anna and Jake. As they entered the hallway, a smell struck them that almost made them throw up. A disgusting smell. A shitty smell. Rob and Mike went into the kitchen, Jake and Anna went into the front room. Jake found the source of the odour laying on the floor.   
It was a body, but he couldn't make out any other detail. It had been torn to hell and back, blood covering the walls and surrounding furniture. Anna covered her mouth so not to breathe in the awful stench of rotting flesh. Rob and Mike ran in. "We found a body in..." They saw the mess on the carpet. "Ah shit. What the hell is going on?" Jake shook his head.  
"I'll tell you when I find out." he said quietly. He had seen many dead bodies before, but none like this. something real bad was going down here, and Jake knew they would find out what very soon. He took out his radio transmitter and flicked it on. "This is Puma Team. We found a dead body in a house. No way to tell what street we are in. The body's been messed up bad. Over." They waited for the reply. The radio crackled.  
"Roger. Report to us if you find anything else. Over." the Marine on the other end of the transmission said.  
"Will do. Over." Jake replied. He put the radio back in his pocket. He turned to the other three Marines. "Lets check out the rest of this area." he said. He turned to leave the house when they all heard a dull thud from the floor above them. Everyone stopped, nobody talking in case the sound occurred again. There was silence.  
"What is it?" Mike whispered.  
"I don't know." replied Jake. He loaded his submachine gun. "I'll go check. You wait here just in case someone comes along." He stepped forward. Anna followed.  
"I'm going with you." she told him. Jake nodded at her. He knew it would be stupid if only he went and there was something unfriendly there. They walked to the stairs. Jake aimed his submachine gun up the stairs and slowly walked up them. They quietly walked across the landing, towards a bedroom door which was slightly ajar. Jake pushed the door open and stepped in the doorway. Nothing was in the room.  
Behind the two Marines the back end of a shotgun slammed into the back of Anna's neck. She fell over. As she did, Jake spun around and aimed at the attacker. It was a girl, aged about 19, and she aimed her shotgun at him.  
"Put the gun down!" Jake said.   
"You put your gun down!" the girl replied. "Who the hell are you?"  
"We're US Marines." Jake told her. Behind him Anna stood up, rubbing the back of her neck.  
"How do I know you're not lying?" the girl asked.  
"Look at the way we dress. Does it look like we're going to a fucking dinner party?" Jake answered. The girl cocked the shotgun.  
"Watch your fucking mouth." she told him. Rob and Mike ran up the stairs and aimed at the girl.  
"Freeze! Put the gun down now!" ordered Rob. She glanced behind her, then back at Jake.   
"They with you?"   
"Yeah. Now, there is a dead body downstairs. The town seems deserted. Contact's been lost with the island. And we want to know why."  
"Tough shit. You'll just think I'm crazy." the girl stated.  
"No one thinks you're crazy. What the hell happened?" Jake said.  
"I saw them. They came a few nights ago. I locked and barricaded all the doors so they couldn't get me. Every night and day I heard screams and firing. Today seemed silent, so Pete went downstairs to check if it was safe."   
"Pete, who's Pete?" Anna asked.  
"I didn't know him much. He said that he couldn't get out of the town because they were blocking the street, so he came here and helped me barricade the doors. He must have been killed by them." the girl explained.  
"Who is 'them'?" asked Mike.  
"I don't know. I haven't seen one properly, but Pete told me they looked human, but emotionless. And they eat people."  
"Well, you'd better come with us. It'll be safer." Jake said.  
"Bullshit! You can't kill these sons of bitches. They don't feel pain." replied the girl.  
"We can try, though. You don't know they can't be killed, you don't even know if they're real. Which is probably the case." Anna told her.  
"All right. I'll go." she said reluctantly.   
"What's your name?" asked Rob, remembering no-one had asked yet.  
"Michelle." answered the girl.  
"Right then. Let's make tracks." Anna said. They walked down the stairs. As they walked past the living room, Jake noticed something missing.  
"Where'd the body go?" he asked. The others stopped.   
"Let's get the hell outta here." Michelle said.  
"I have no arguments against that idea." Anna stated. They stepped into the kitchen when suddenly someone caught there attention in the back yard. The Marines raised their guns at the figure, but it stumbled over the fence furthest away, oblivious to the group inside the house.   
"Look..." Michelle whispered quietly. They looked onto the floor and saw bloody footprints leading from the front room all the way to the back yard.  
"Someone could have quickly snatched the body whilst we were upstairs, dumped it and scarpered." said Rob, trying to make sense of what was going on.  
"It must have been that person who jumped the fence." Jake added.  
"Well, whoever it was, they're not here. So we'd better look for him. He could be anywhere." Anna said. She walked out the back door and the others followed her.  
  
Karl, Howard, Phil and Tim turned the corner. They were also Marines. They walked down the road, then saw an alleyway. They stopped. "Me and Karl will just check down there. You two finish this street, meet us on the other end.  
"Affirmative" Tim said. Phil and Karl walked down the alleyway, whilst Tim and Howard carried on down the road. Tim noticed the manhole cover about 100 metres away was removed. He ran over to it, followed by Howard. They looked down it. Nothing but pitch black. But they could hear something. Tim looked at Howard. "You wanna go first?"  
"Yeah, alright. Just keep an eye out." Howard said.  
"No problem." Howard put his foot on the ladder and descended into hell. Tim followed. They got to the bottom and switched on their flashlights. As Howard switched his on, the beam highlighted something. Howard raised his weapon.  
"Hey!" he yelled. The thing suddenly turned and lunged at him. It grabbed him, and bit through his neck. Howard screamed as much as he could before his throat was ripped open.  
Tim heard Howard shouting, the saw the torch flailing wildly. He heard Howard scream, then stop. "Howard!" he shouted. He shone the torch on the thing. It stood up. It looked human, but also looked dead. It's flesh was decaying, and there was no sign of humanity in it's messed-up face. It came towards him. Tim fired at it, and it dropped to the ground, blood pouring from every place almost. Tim ran to the ladder and climbed it.  
Suddenly something grabbed his leg. Tim looked down and saw another one of the things. He tried to kick free, but couldn't. The creature tried to bite his foot, but couldn't reach. Tim pulled out his pistol and fired three shots into it's face. It fell to the ground. Tim hurriedly climbed the ladder, got out of the sewers and put the cover back on. He looked around. "What the hell is going on?" he asked himself.  
  
As they got to the end of a nearby ally, Mike saw a man standing at the other end of the road. "Stop right there, sir." he called, calmly. The man turned his head and started to move towards him. He was dragging his foot behind him. Maybe he was hurt.   
"Hey, are you alright?" Anna asked. The man carried on towards them. Mike raised his gun and repeated what he just said. The man kept coming. closer and closer. And then they all saw his face. It had decayed, with skin flapping off his face. The bone shined red in the gleaming sunlight. Some flies buzzed around the skull like vultures.  
"Oh shit." Michelle said aloud. The group knew this wasn't good news. They all aimed at the oncoming abnormality and fired. But even though each shot was a clear hit, he kept on coming. Bullet after bullet tore into the chest, gut, legs and arms of the monster. Blood and pieces of rotting flesh sprayed the road behind it. It lunged at Jake, who jumped backwards and shot at the monster's head several times. The back of it's skull blew out, pieces of brain and bone flying backwards through the air, slopping on the ground in a bloody mess. The monster stopped moving, and thick, red blood started seeping through the bullet-holes in it's forehead and left eye socket.  
"This must be one of Michelle's monsters." Jake said, even more shaken by what had happened than the sharp scream last night. "I thought you said it couldn't die." he added, lightly kicking the thing's head to check it was dead. All five stared at the creature. Eventually Anna spoke.   
"I think I know what that is," she said. The 3 men looked at each other. Michelle looked on, wanting to know what it was. "It's a person who has died, but has come back from the dead." Rob and Mike looked at each other again, but looked as if they were about to laugh out loud. Michelle didn't see how it was funny, and Jake just kept looking at whatever they just killed.   
"A zombie?" asked Rob. Anna nodded her head. "You mean to say that that," Rob pointed at the thing laying on the floor. "Is a zombie?" Anna nodded her head again.  
"It would explain the body in the house." This time Rob laughed. Then Anna raised her gun at his head.  
"Woah, shit! I didn't mean it..." Anna fired off a shot. Rob closed his eyes. Something slumped to the ground behind him. He opened his eyes again and turned around to see what was behind him. A man laid there, a single bullet hole in the centre of it's head. It was similar to the one they just shot. It's flesh had started to deteriorate and it smelt bad. It's dead, yellowish eyes stared up at him, it's mouth was still open. Rob swallowed hard. He turned to Anna, who still held her gun in her hand, but was more relaxed. "Thank Christ you're a good shot." he sighed.  
"I'm not." she said. Rob looked at her and she smiled at him.  
A voice came over the radio. It was Captain Edwards. "We need backup, now! We have been ambushed! Repeat, We need help!"  
They looked at each other. "Shit..." said Rob. Jake ran down the street, closely followed by Rob, Mike, Anna and Michelle. They ran down several streets until they found the area.   
  
As they reached the area, they could tell what had happened. And they knew it wasn't good. They looked at the bodies of soldiers, lying in a pool of blood. They had been bitten and torn apart. No gunshot wounds. It looked as though they had been eaten alive. About 4-6 people lay there, still twitching. Then Jake heard a groan. All five turned around and immediately pointed there guns in that direction. Standing about twenty metres away was a group of men, they looked like the one they had encountered in the street a few minutes ago. "Aim at their heads!" yelled Anna, and automatically fired at the group. Then the other four fired. The sound of rapid gunshots, the moaning of the monsters, the screams of other soldiers being eaten alive, and the sound of hot lead tearing through flesh and bone and blood ripped apart the sound of silence more commonly heard in the town. But as much as they tried, the tide of the undead didn't cease, only slowed down. By now, other soldiers had joined in the fire-fight.   
Knowing the fact that this army of creatures was unstoppable, Captain Edwards took a hand-grenade out of his pocket. He looked at Jake, who saw him pick up the grenade. "Get everyone outta here." said the captain.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Where d'ya think?" There was a long pause as they looked at one another. Everybody else was still firing at the zombies.   
"You gotta be crazy if you think I'm letting you die."  
"I give the orders. Get everyone out now." There was another long pause. Captain Edwards spoke again, louder this time. "Get the hell outta here! Now! That's an order!" Jake looked at him. He looked straight back at Jake. "Goddammit, Jake! That's an order, not a request! Get everyone out!"  
"Alright," he said at last. "Everyone," he yelled into his comm-piece. " Pull back to the chopper. We gotta fall back!" He looked at the Captain. "That includes you." he said, bluntly.  
"Go, now! Get the hell outta here!" Yelled the captain. He walked towards the zombie mass. Instantly Jake pulled out a handgun from it's holster and fired at Captain Edwards' leg. The bullet ripped through his thigh. Captain Edwards fell to the ground. He looked at his bleeding wound, then at Jake holding the gun. "You stupid shit! What the hell are you doing?!"  
Jake put his gun away calmly. "Gettin' you outta here. What's it look like?"  
"No you ain't," said the captain, the pain setting in now. " your gonna head to the chopper along with the rest of the troops."   
"I'm not gonna have your death on my mind all day. I've got enough problems to deal with." Jake picked the Captain up just as a zombie lunged at them. Jake pulled his gun up to the zombies skull, fired three shots through it's brain and kicked it away in one swift move.  
Still carrying the captain over his shoulder he ran to catch up with most of the other soldiers. Captain Edwards fired his machine gun at the pursuing zombies.  
Eventually they got to the landing site. Jake put Captain Edwards down. Other soldiers came to help the captain. Jake walked over to his three team-mates. They came up to him. "You all right?" asked Mike.  
"Yeah, fine. It ain't my blood. It's Edwards'. You lot?" replied Jake. Rob looked at him.  
"Yeah. Never felt better." he said. Then he looked around. "Hey, where did the zombies go?" They all looked round at the forest.  
"Maybe they gave up..." started Anna. Suddenly a large, skinless beast jumped out of the forest and landed right next to the four Marines.  
"Oh, shit!" whispered Anna, unmoving due to fear.  
The new beast looked at the four Marines and seemed to grin a lipless grin at them. It looked like a skinless bear, but majorly pissed off. And hungry. All four of them just looked at it. Seconds later a shower of bullets launched at the thing. Most of them hit the creature, spilling thick, red blood over the ground. It faced the soldiers blasting it. There were six of them. It pounced at the centre man and swiped his head clean off. It landed at least one hundred metres away.  
A couple of soldiers dived into the gunship, but the monster followed them in. As it got into the vehicle, Jake ran towards the metal door and slammed it into place. The screams of the soldiers inside echoed all around them.   
Everyone fired at the apache, Jake barely getting away in time. The bullets tore through the metalwork of the machine. Then a stray bullet impacted with a missile on the side of the apache. It erupted into a huge ball of flame, sending everyone diving for cover, and hurled Jake away from the area, landing a good 75 metres away from the explosion.   
Jake looked at the burning wreckage. No movement. It was dead. Then he realised that they had no means of getting of the island. "Shit." He looked at where Captain Edwards was. He was gone. No sign of anything taking him. He'd just vanished. "Things just keep gettin' better by the fucking minute." Anna ran over to him.  
"Shit, are you OK?" asked Anna. "You're not hurt or nothing are you?"  
" Not much." came the reply. Jake got up off the ground. Rob and Mike walked over to him. "Good work." Rob said.  
"Yeah, glad you're not dead." Mike added.   
Jake looked around. There were only five or six Marines left. "Captain's gone. So's our ride outta here." He looked at the only three Marines he knew properly. "What do we do now?"   
"What we do is look for any other settlements." said Anna.  
"Are you kidding? There'll be more of them...things in all the towns, not just that one!" Rob said.  
"You gotta better idea, smart-ass? I'd sure as hell like to hear it." replied Anna, clearly pissed off about Robs doubt.  
"Yeah, I do." Rob said, calmly. He looked up. "Sit on my smart-ass 'till the rescue team arrives."   
"In three days time?" reminded Anna. "Them things'll come here and kill all of us!"   
"But we'll just walk straight into them your way!"  
"We'll be able to call for help,"  
"What, like Commander Robinson?"  
"Yes,"  
"His plan had a drawback. Because he's dead. You really wanna die?"   
Jake turned around. "She's got a point, Rob. It's the best option."  
"What?" Rob looked around. 4 other Marines agreed with Jake. "Christ." He looked at Jake and Anna. "Fine. We'll go find another town."   
"Right then," said Jake. He looked at Anna. "Lets go." Michelle walked up to them.  
"I know where the nearest town is. Just follow me." she offered. Jake nodded.  
"Sounds good. Lead the way." Michelle smiled, then turned. Jake grabbed her arm and turned her around. He handed her his submachine gun.  
"Your shotgun's empty. Use this." he said. Michelle took it and smiled again.  
"Thanks." she said, then turned and started walking. Everyone followed her.  
  



	3. Deadly Town

CHAPTER 3  
  
The ten, tired people had now been walking for nearly three hours now, although they had no way of telling what the time was. Anna walked up to Jake. "I want to thank you for what you did back there." She said quietly.  
"For what?" Jake asked her.  
"Agreeing with me. I wasn't sure if anyone would want to go to a town here after what happened."  
"No problem. Anyway, I thought it was a good idea." They carried on walking together. "You married?" asked Jake, unsure. Anna looked at him, slightly amused. It was sort of the same question she was going to ask earlier on the beach, when they landed.  
"No, I'm single."  
"You're joking, right? I'm surprised." Anna laughed.   
"What about you?" asked Anna.  
"Single."  
"Really?"  
"Yup. Never really found the right person."  
"Is that right?"  
"Yeah." Jake looked at his feet. They kept on walking, still searching for a town to shelter in. Suddenly a zombie burst out of the thicket. It came straight at Jake, who drew his berreta and fired a single shot at the creature. The quiet of the forest made the .45 handgun sound like a .445. The zombie stopped in it's tracks, blood and brain matter hit the tree behind it and the zombie fell backwards, it's fingers still twitching slightly.   
  
Captain Edwards walked down another deserted street. He was grateful, because if he had to run to safety he was screwed. He had tied a piece of his jacket around the bullet wound, but it still hurt like hell. He saw a large building down the road. The press building.  
He walked towards it, gripping his berreta tight. He opened the main door and looked around. "Hello?" he called. "Is there anyone here?" No answer. Edwards walked over to the stairs, and limped up them. He called again. No answer. He suddenly heard a small banging sound in a nearby office. He slowly approached the door, then pushed it open. He quickly pointed his gun at the figure in the corner.  
"Don't shoot!" said the woman. Edwards slightly lowered his gun, then noticed someone else pop up from behind a desk, and aimed at the new person. He raised his hands.  
"Woah! Hold it!" the man said. Edwards looked at the pair of survivors, then lowered his weapon.  
"You two alright?" he asked, wondering what to say. They nodded. "I'm Captain Edwards. I'm a US Marine."  
"Are you here to save us?" asked the woman.  
"That's the plan." Edwards said reassuringly. The man looked behind Edwards.  
"You alone?" he asked.  
"Yeah."  
"You some kind of one-man-army, or something?"  
"No. The rest of my team are somewhere else on the island."  
"Why are you alone?"  
"I'll only slow them down with this wound."  
"Damn." said the woman, standing up. "That hurt?"  
"Like hell."  
"Well," said the man, "What now?"  
"We get outta here. You know this island well?"  
"Yeah, kinda. Anyway, I'm Dave. Dave Richards." he said. "This is Kylie Trent." Dave pointed to the woman.  
"Nice to meet you." Edwards said. "Either of you got a car?"  
  
Finally the large group of human survivors reached a small urban area. It was deserted. No zombies or other creatures in sight. They looked around to see the town looked like there had been no incident. Cars were parked along the road. It was dark now, but no lampposts were on. Exactly how the other town had looked at first. The nine Marines each had a flashlight, all of which were on. Near to them was a large, important looking building, possibly around 25 floors. They walked over to it. Jake walked up to the main entrance, turned the handle and walked into the building. His face banged into the glass. Michelle laughed quietly. Jake tried again, without head butting the door. It didn't budge. "It's looked." he said. "Lets try another building."   
As Jake turned in search of an unlocked building, they heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. They all pulled out a gun and waited for it to arrive. Suddenly a black car spun round the corner and sped towards them. It didn't show sign of it going to stop. Jake stepped into the road and stood in the path of the oncoming car. He gripped his gun hard, but didn't fire it at the driver.  
It looked as if it was going to drive straight through Jake. Anna looked at the car, then Jake. She knew he wasn't going to move, and he'd probably get run over. "Oh shit," she said as she realised this. She ran out in the path of the car and slammed into Jake. They both crashed onto the opposite walkway. Anna looked at him. "Jesus Christ, Jake. Are you genuinely psychotic, or just plain stupid?" she asked him, completely astounded by him nearly getting himself killed. Jake peered round Anna. The car had stopped a few inches from where he was standing before.  
"Well, I stopped the driver." Jake replied smiling. Anna looked behind her.  
"Yeah. But you're still a psycho." she said. Jake looked around.  
"We'd better get up. Don't wanna give anyone the wrong impression now, do we." he said. They both stood up and walked over to the car.   
The driver had stepped out of the car and was arguing with Rob. Jake walked over to them. "Hey, what's you're name?" he asked the driver.  
"Frank Smith." replied the man.  
"You got a driving licence?" asked Jake.  
"Yeah, in my car." Frank replied. Rob went to get it. "But that ain't my car." he added. Jake looked at him, puzzled.   
"Then who's is it?" he asked.  
"Some FBI guy's. We got separated when he saw people in a building. He went in, then loads of these crazy people came after me." Frank replied.   
"Where is he now?" Jake asked.  
"I don't know. He's probably dead." Frank said, looking behind him to see if he was actually alive and following him. "Those people probably ate him. There must be a lot of them."  
"You got that right. We met a load back in some coastal town. Nasty bastards, take some punishing." Jake explained. "Anyway, you where driving dangerously. With no licence. So you're under arrest." he added, changing the subject matter. Frank looked astonished.  
"Can we do that?" Rob asked. Jake looked at him.  
"I don't know. We are part of the law system, I guess."   
"I thought we just shot bad guys." Anna said.   
"Well, we can either arrest him or shoot him. Which one shall it be?" Jake said.  
"Hey, wait a sec." Frank said, getting worried. "The island is being overrun by zombies and you're persecuting me for trying to escape?" Jake faced him.  
"Yeah." he said. "Besides, you almost ran me over." Frank swallowed hard.  
"You where the one who jumped out in front of me. I tried to stop,"  
"Hey, shut it." Jake told him.  
"Christ, man. I thought you guys where supposed to be good guys..." Jake faced him again.  
"Excuse me, but we are the United States of America Armed Forces, so that gives us higher authority than you. So if we say that you are under arrest, you're under arrest. So if you would refrain from moaning about it, then you will not get shot. Kapeesh?" He faced the others. "I say we arrest him."  
"What if he gets in the way?"  
"Then we shoot him."   
"I can live with that."   
"Great. It's agreed then." Jake turned to Frank. "You'll be all right if you don't piss us off." he said.  
"Oh, great. You really brightened up my day, y'know. I had a great plan for getting outta here."  
"What was it?" asked Michelle, eager to find out how to get off the god-forsaken island.  
"Airport. Get off the island that way." Frank explained to her.  
"Nobody is gonna fly you outta here." Jake told him.  
"I could." Frank argued.  
"Can you fly?" asked Rob.  
"No."  
"Then how the hell are you gonna use the plane, man?" Mike asked.  
"I don't know, do I. It can't be that hard." Frank stated.  
"You're a twat, you know that?" Anna told him.  
"Shut it. I'm not a twat. I just wanna get off this island. Just like you. So does trying to save your own ass make you a twat?"  
"No. But deciding to escape using a plane which you can't fly makes you a twat." Rob explained.  
"You guys are real nice, you know that?" Frank told them. Mike smiled.  
"You got a gun?" Jake asked Frank, changing the subject quickly.  
"No. I don't. Does it look like I'd carry a gun around on the odd chance my once dead fellow natives would come back and try to use me as an in-between meal snack? What kind of stupid question is that?" Frank answered sarcastically, a hint of annoyance in his voice.   
Rob took a pistol out of his side-holster. He reloaded it and handed it to Frank. "Just don't shoot us and you can keep it." he said. Frank nodded, looking at the gun.  
"Holy shit. You just gave me a firearm. I mean, what if I was a, a secret agent sent here to kill all of you along with all these monsters?"   
"Then I'll have my gun back, thank you very much." Rob said. He held his hand out. Frank looked at him.  
"It was just a joke. I mean, I ain't with no agency or nothin', man," Jake gave him an unamused look. Suddenly they all heard the sound of an approaching car. Anna looked at Jake.  
"You stay right there." she said. Jake smiled at her. They looked down the road, guns drawn.  
Another car swerved around the corner and towards the group. It got closer, then slowed down and stopped in front of the group. A man wearing a black suit stepped out of the car.  
"Who are you?" Rob asked. The man took his identity badge from his pocket.  
"Agent Dan Stanton. FBI." He looked at Frank. "Where the hell did you go?" he asked.  
"I thought you were dead, man. I thought those assholes got you." Frank explained. Dan nodded.  
"Don't worry about it." He turned to the Marines. "I thought they'd send you lot. Didn't expect so few of you, though."  
"There were more of us. But they're dead." Jake told him bluntly. "What are you doing here?"  
"I'm supposed to be apprehending this man. He's wanted for hacking into various top secret locations, then selling the information off to other people."  
"Well, you can add dangerous driving as well." Jake said.  
"Alright." replied Dan. "I will. Now that you know me, who are you?"  
"My name's Jake, this is Anna, Rob and Mike. That's basically all I know. But that's not important. What is important is those things. It's very likely that they'll be coming or they are already here. So we better hurry up."  
"No problem." Dan answered. Jake turned to everyone.  
"OK, lets search the building. Head to toe. I don't wanna be attacked by none of them bastards. Find anything you're unsure of, shoot it. Then report it over the CV radio. Take no chances. Let's go!" He looked up at the building, then at Anna. "We'll search the top floor. Rob, Mike, you take these new guys with you."  
They walked into the building, and over to the elevator. Jake pressed the button. Nothing happened. "Powers out," said the suprisingly calm Anna. "Lets take the stairs. More exercise."   
  
Dave spun the car round a corner, knocking over a zombie in the process. "So," he said to Edwards. "You have no idea what's going on?"  
"None whatsoever. A group of Marines were sent to the island before us, but they were eliminated. Most of my team were, as well. Something has caused these people to turn into zombies. I don't know why."  
"We've had stories in about cannibalistic murders recently on the island." Kylie said suddenly. Edwards turned in his seat to look at her. "They might be connected."  
"How long ago did you see the first report?" Edwards asked.  
"Err... about two weeks ago." she replied.  
"The first team was sent 5 days ago. If this started two weeks ago, then surely someone must have noticed something was wrong." Edwards said.  
"Maybe it's because what's happening, lot's of people think is impossible. We thought it was just some sick freak eating his victims. Cannibals are more believable than zombies." Dave told him. Suddenly they heard gunshots, then the bullets smashed through the windows.  
"Shit!" Kylie shouted, ducking down. One of the bullets hit a tyre, and the car skidded off-course.  
"Jesus Christ!" Dave shouted, noticing the house they were heading straight towards. Edwards opened his door.  
"Get outta the car!" he ordered, then jumped out. He landed on the sidewalk, rolling down the road slightly. The other two did the same, only Dave landed in a hedge. They watched the car as it smashed into the house, exploding on impact. They shielded their eyes from the blast. Edwards stood up, looking for their potential assassin, clenching his weapon hard. Nobody was around.  
Dave ran over to Kyle. "You OK?" he asked, helping her up.  
"I'm fine." she said. "You?"  
"No problems." he answered, then they ran over to Edwards.  
"We'd better make tracks." Edwards told them. "Whoever tried to kill us will probably come back. I think it's best that we're not here when that happens." The other two nodded.  
"Good thinking." Dave said, and they headed down the road.  
  
Eventually Jake and Anna reached the top floor, the number next to the door saying 27. The power was still cut, the two Marines still using their flashlights. There were six offices on the floor they were on, still no word over the radio. It was dark, and the bright beams did their best to illuminate the rooms. Jake walked into the first one, Anna walked into the second.   
Jake shone his torch at the dark objects in the office. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He searched every inch of the room to find something. Still nothing. "You found anything?" he called to Anna.  
"Nothing here." she shouted. Jake checked around quickly again, then walked out.   
Jake finished checking the offices. He had found nothing abnormal in any of them. He heard something nearby. He spun round, gun trained on the darkness in front of him. "Anna?" he questioned. No reply. He spun round again. When he stopped turning, he made out the silhouette of a person. "Shit!" he shouted, startled by it's sudden appearance.   
Anna turned round as Jake shouted behind her. "Shit!" she replied. "Jesus, you scared the shit outta me."   
"I scared the shit out of you?" Jake looked around the area again. "There's nothing here." he stated. Anna looked around also.  
"You're right." she told him. "Do you think any of us will get through this?" she asked.  
"To be honest, I have no idea. I hope so." he replied. Anna nodded her head in agreement. A split second later, Jake noticed a piece of the wooden frame next to them splinter. Before he could realise what happened, he realised a loud explosion-like sound. Then he realised they were being shot at.  
As the second bullet skimmed past them a moment after the first, both Marines dived out of the way, hurling themselves opposite ways. As they were travelling through the air, they aimed there guns at the source of the firepower and shot at it.   
Jake landed on his side, promptly rolling behind a desk and still firing. He leaned against it and looked to his side. Anna was inside one of the other offices, leaning against a wall. He heard footsteps leaving the room, and Jake rolled out of the office and fired again. His bullets hit the wall near a middle-aged man wearing a white lab-coat. His face was hidden, and he ran through the door.   
"Who the hell is it?" Anna shouted.  
"I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." Jake said, reloaded his gun , took out another from his second holster, then ran through the same door the attacker had. Anna followed.  
They got to the top of the stairs, and Jake spotted the man running through the door on the floor below them. Jake jumped onto the banisters sideways and quickly slid down it. He fired both guns through the door, hoping to hit the man. He jumped slightly at the bottom and crashed into the door. It swung open and Jake rolled into the room and fired his remaining bullets in front of him. It hit the window on the far side of the room. The man had gone.  
"Where'd he go?" Jake thought aloud.  
"Shit! We lost the bastard." Anna stated. Suddenly a lone zombie staggered in behind them and knocked Anna over into Jake. As they both fell to the ground, the zombie lumbered towards them. Jake looked behind Anna's head and saw it coming. He dropped his two pistols and pulled Anna's gun out of it's holster. He pointed it at the zombie and fired into it's skull.   
The zombie's brain slapped across the wall behind it, and it collapsed to the ground motionless. Jake and Anna stood up and Jake handed back Anna's gun. She replaced it in it's holster as he picked his two up. "We better report this to the others." Jake said. He took out the radio only to find it smashed and useless.   
"Ah, shit." said Anna, looking at the mangle of wires and plastic.   
"We gotta find the others." Jake said. He turned and walked to the other side of the room, reloading his guns as he walked. He pushed on a door, but it didn't budge. "Can you pick this lock?" Jake asked. Anna stepped next to him and shot it with her gun.   
"Yeah." she told him, then walked into the room. Jake half-smiled, then followed her. She flicked on the light switch and the bulb shorted out. "Damn." she said, flicking her torch back on. Jake did the same. The room was empty. There wasn't even another door in the room.   
"OK, no-one's home. Now what?" asked Jake.  
"They could be anywhere in the building." Anna said, not answering the question.   
"If they heard the shots they could be on there way here." Jake told her.   
"We're gonna die here, y'know." she stated. Jake walked over to her and held her arm.  
"We are not going to die. Not today. I promise." Jake said reassuringly.  
"Just don't break that promise." she said. She looked at him.   
"I won't." Jake said, then kissed her lips. When he finished, he wondered whether that was a good idea or not. Without saying anything, Anna kissed him.   
As they kissed, Mike ran into the room. He saw them. "Oops." he said, making sure they knew he was there. He caught them by surprise, and they looked marginally embarrassed about it. "Erm, we heard some shots, and you wouldn't answer the radio. Came looking for you." He coughed quickly. "You Ok?" he asked.  
Jake nodded. "Yeah. But there's someone else here. He tried to kill us. But we lost him." As Jake mentioned the other person, Mike nodded.   
"We know. We found two of our guys full of holes. Those zombies didn't do that. Someone wants us dead, that's for sure." Mike explained.  
"Shit. It was a bad idea to come here." Anna said.  
"OK, that leaves eight of us left, and that Frank guy. So where are the other five?" Jake asked.  
"Follow me." Mike said, and turned around.   
  
Willow ran round the corner, only to bump into another Marine. He raised his gun at him, but the Marine kicked it out of his hand before he could fire. "Doctor Alfred Willow, I presume?" the Marine asked. Willow nodded.  
"Who the hell are you?"  
"Neil. Neil Peters." Neil picked Willow up by the throat. "Where's the lab, Willow?"  
"What?"  
"Lab. Where is it?"  
"Why?"  
"You've been doing experiments. Big ones. Involving the recreation of prehistoric animals, I believe."  
"How... How did you...?"  
"Know? Let's just say that this is big news. People want to know how you did it. I'm here to find out. Now, where is it?"  
"Screw you, asshole." Neil frowned at Willow, then threw him out of the window. He cracked his neck, then walked down the hallway.  
  
Jake, Anna and Mike walked into the 14th floor. The two Marines, Michelle, Frank and Dan whirled to face them, all pointing their guns at them. "Nice welcome." said Jake. They put their weapons away. Rob walked over to them.  
"Sent a couple of men to turn the power on. Tim and Gary." he said. Frank and the other Marine walked up to them as well. At that moment the power returned. "Right on cue."  
"You two all right?" asked the other Marine, looking at their cuts. He looked about 18.  
"Yeah. Bit worn out and tired, y'know." replied Jake.  
"Same here." said Anna.   
"What's you're name?" asked Jake.  
"Stuart Miller. I'm new."  
"Hell of a way to start you're career, huh kid?"  
"Yeah. Must be my luck."  
"Well," said Mike. "This place seems to have been a hotel. You two better rest. We'll hold the fort."  
"You sure?" said Jake. Rob nodded and Jake and Anna walked down the corridor and into one of the far guest rooms.  
Jake and Anna closed the door and turned the light on. It was a normal hotel room. Two small rooms, bedroom and bathroom. They put their weapons on the bedside table, took of their boots and jackets and fell onto the bed.  
  
An hour had passed since Jake and Anna had returned. Rob looked through the hallway, making sure nothing was coming. Stuart walked over to Michelle. "You ok?"  
"Yeah," She smiled. "How about you?"  
"I'm fine."  
"I know" Stuart looked at her. She realised what she'd just said. "I mean, I know because, you, you're not hurt or cut, or limping." Stuart smiled, then they heard a scream. It was very quiet, but definitely a scream. It was outside. They looked at each other.  
Mike walked over to the window and looked through it. He could only just make out someone running to the building. "Heads up, someone's coming." he said. He grabbed his machine gun. "Tim, you come with me. Let's see what's going on."  
"I'm on it." They walked out of the room. Stuart and Michelle looked out of the window.  
Mike and Tim reached the bottom floor just as someone ran in the door. They aimed their guns at them. "Freeze!" Mike shouted. The woman stopped and saw them.  
"Oh, thank God!" she said. "You gotta help me..." Suddenly something jumped through the doorway and grabbed the woman. The creature looked like a wolf, but as if it to was suffering the same thing as the zombies. It ripped at the woman's skin, silencing hr quickly. Mike and Tim fired at it fast as well. The bullets shredded the wolf apart, stopping it. They stopped firing and looked at it.  
"I think we should block the door." Tim said.  
"Yeah." replied Mike. They grabbed a table and closed the door. They put the table in front, blocking it. "Let's get back to the others." Mike said.  
"Good idea." Tim answered. They ran back into the elevator.  
  
Edwards, Dave and Kylie looked down the road to see a large group of zombies. "Oh, shit." Dave said.  
"They haven't noticed us yet." Edwards said, then looked at the house next to them. "In there." he whispered. The other two quietly crept up to the house and tried the door. It was locked.  
"Damn." Kylie murmured. Edwards looked at it, then at the zombies. He quickly took out a silencer from his pocket, attached it to the gun, and shot at the lock. The door opened, and all three looked at the zombies down the road. They still hadn't noticed.  
"Dumb-asses." Edwards said, then stepped towards the door. A lone zombie was in his way. Edwards quickly shot it in the head before it raised some kind of alarm, then walked into the house, ready for any more zombies. The other two walked in, closing the door behind them. They blocked it with a small cabinet, and looked at Edwards. He looked back. "We should be alright for now. Get some rest. It's been a long day."  
"Sure." Dave said, and the two reporters walked into the living room.  
"You two get some proper sleep. There should be a bed or something upstairs. You use that. I'll make sure we don't have any unwanted guests." Edwards told them.  
"You sure?" Dave asked.  
"Yeah." Edwards replied. They nodded, and walked upstairs. Edwards sat in the armchair next to him and reloaded his beretta.  
  
Neil stood in the empty street. He was smoking a cigarette when another person walked up to him. "You found it, Smith?" Neil asked.  
"Yeah. I know where it is. It's at the port. Can't miss it." said the man. He was also wearing a Marine uniform.  
"Good. You go ahead. Get any evidence you can on this experiment. Also, see if you can find anything about this thing that's going on. There must be something about these zombies and other mutants in there. We'll get more money."  
"No problem. What about you?"  
"I've gotta take care of those other Marines. I'll plant a bomb or something. Anyway, get the samples, head to the airport, take an aircraft and deliver the package. I'll find some way off this island. This is to important to screw up."  
"Affirmative." said Smith, then ran down the street. Neil dropped his cigarette, stubbed it into the ground, and returned into the building.  
  
When Jake woke up it was light outside. He put his hand over his eyes and rubbed his face. He looked to his side. Anna was asleep, the back of her head facing him. He got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom. He went to the basin, half-filled it with warm water and splashed some over his face. He looked into the mirror. He saw himself looking back at him. It had been a long time ago that he had seen what he looked like. He was marginally surprised at how different he looked. He looked pale and tired looking. Small cuts on his face dribbled with blood. His hair was messed up and knotted.   
He walked out of the bathroom and over to the pile of green/brown army gear and slipped on his jacket. As he did this Anna woke up. She sat up and looked at him. "Morning." she said tiredly.  
"Morning." replied Jake. He put his boots on. "I'd better check the rest of them aren't worm-food. You get ready. I gotta feeling we'll be heading out soon." Anna nodded. Jake opened the door and walked through.  
He walked through the room to Mike and Rob. The other two Marines were back. "How long are we staying here?"  
"We'll be movin' out as soon as you and Anna are ready. We found a map of the island. It says there's a port not that far from here. It could be our best hope." said Rob.  
"Great," said Jake.  
"Yeah. But there's something else."  
Jake looked at him. "What?"  
"According to this map, there is a lab nearby. I'm guessing but it could be what caused all this to happen." Rob pointed out, clearly uneasy about this factor.  
"Shit. Could be nothing, though."   
"Maybe."  
"This ain't how I was hoping things would turn out for this mission." said Jake.  
"Look on the bright side," mentioned Mike. "You met Anna." Jake smiled. Then turned and headed back to the room Anna was in.  
By now Anna was ready. Jake picked up his machine gun. He looked at Anna. She looked back. They kissed again.   
"Right then," he said after. "We're off to the port."  
"Great. We can finally get off this place." Jake walked over to the table. He picked up his packet of cigarettes. He also picked up his lighter, then tested it to see if it still worked. He looked at Anna.  
"Smoke?" he said, offering one to her. She took it and placed the end in between her lips.  
"I've been trying to give these up." she said jokingly.  
"Hell. It's a special occasion."  
"I'll say." Jake put his cigarette into his mouth, pulled out the lighter and lit both cigarettes.   
"All right then," Jake said "Time to go."  
  
Jake, Rob, Anna and Mike led the rest of the group through the building. They reached an elevator. Rob turned around to see how many people were left. "Ah..." he said. "Too many. We'll take the stairs."   
"No problem." said Jake. He pushed open the doors leading to the stairs. Almost instantly a lone zombie lunged towards him. Jake jumped back, then the Marines blew the thing away with a torrent of machine gun fire. Jake looked at them, then breathed out a sigh of relief. "That was to close for my liking." he said. Then he looked at the zombie, crumpled up halfway down the stairs oozing out dark red blood. He dropped his cigarette on the floor, blew smoke at the creature and rubbed the burning stick into the floor with his boot. "Better leave before his buddies arrive."   
"Good idea." said Mike. They walked down the stairs, passing the unmoving body cautiously. As Jake stood on the last step on that floor, the ground beneath him gave way, taking Michelle with him and almost Dan.  
"Shit!" shouted the federal agent as his leg fell into the gap, then he was quickly grabbed by Mike and Frank.  
Jake and Michelle weren't so lucky. They shouted in shock and pain as they crashed through several floors, and landed in a dark room with a thud. Dust rose as they hit the floor, completely blocking them from the other's gaze.   
As they fell, Anna dived forward in an attempt to grab either of them. She missed. "No!!!" she screamed as they slipped over her hand. She saw the both of them smash through the next floor, land on the following floor and lay still. "Jake! No! Michelle!" Rob pulled her away.  
"We gotta be goin'! C'mon, lets go!"  
"We gotta get them outta there!" She put one leg down the hole. Rob and Mike automatically pulled her back out.  
"They're gone! Jake's dead! Michelle's dead! Now we gotta get outta here before we end up like them!" yelled Rob.  
"Fuck you! They ain't dead! They're alive! We gotta help them!" Anna shouted back. Rob pulled her around to face him.   
"They are dead! We can't help them! Either of them! We have to go! Now!" he screamed. He pulled her away as everyone ran to the opposite side of the building.   
They eventually got to the main entrance of the building. Anna was still crying over Jake. Mike spotted a four-wheel drive van. "Over there!" he said to Rob, and pointed at the vehicle. They ran to it. Mike smashed the window and unlocked it. Other Marines did the same. Mike got in the drivers seat, Rob next to him, the rest in the back. The keys were in the ignition. Mike turned the key and the engine roared to life. Mike hit the accelerator with his boot and sped away from the building. Anna looked back to the window. Tears filled her eyes. She touched the back window.  
"Shit..." she whispered.  



	4. Bad Science

CHAPTER 4  
  
"Jake! C'mon!" cried Anna, firing wildly at the horde of zombies. They were outnumbered. He knew it. He pulled a grenade out. "Jake, no!" Anna shouted. Jake pulled the pin out. "No!" He backflipped into the mass of zombies. "No!"  
Suddenly Jake woke up. His head was bleeding. So was nearly every part of his body. It hurt. He heard a noise. It was an engine revving up. He ran to the window. He looked out. It was the others. He hit the window. "Hey!" he yelled at them. "Hey!" The van drove away. "Shit!"   
He turned around and picked up his berretta. He suddenly noticed Michelle lying on the ground. He ran over to her. "Michelle! Michelle! Can you here me?"  
Michelle coughed. She rolled over and opened her eyes. "I'm OK. What happened?" She looked up. "Oh."  
"The others have left. They must think we're dead. If we don't catch up with them, we will be." Jake told her. He took out the empty clip and slapped in a new one. they walked over to the door and Jake twisted the handle. He let it open before stepping into the dark room. He fumbled to find the light switch. He hit a button and the room lit up. It was empty.   
They made it down to the third floor when they heard something at the far end of the corridor. A group of three zombies staggered towards him. Instead of wasting his bullets, Jake opened the door to the stairs. Ten were approaching him. "Oh, Shit!" he said and closed the door. He looked at the three at the opposite end of the hallway. They were halfway to their target. Blam! Blam! Blam! Each zombie was downed with a head shot. Jake looked at Michelle, the end of her gun smoking. She looked back at him. "They looked at me funny." Jake smiled, then moved a desk in front of the door.   
"Get through that, suckers!" he shouted at the zombies through the door. Suddenly an arm smashed through the glass in the door and tried to get Jake. The suddenness made him jump back. "Jesus Christ!"  
"Don't tease the dead. They'll only get mad." Michelle said calmly.  
They walked down the corridor and entered the room at the end. As they walked through it they stopped. At the far end was a large bomb. The counter told them that they only had 5 minutes and 45 seconds to get out of there. "Shit!" Michelle said and walked backwards through the door. Jake did the same.  
Jake looked behind him. A large window was in the wall. Behind it was a large tree. A thick branch stuck out near the window. Jake knew it was there only chance. "Follow me." he said, and he shot the glass and ran at it. He launched himself through the sharp shards, cutting his exposed skin. Michelle stood still.   
"I must be crazy..." She ran down the corridor and jumped through the window. As she did, the barricade gave way and the zombies lunged at her legs. They missed and hit the wall.   
As Michelle flew through the window, she suddenly realised that they were high above the ground. She was waiting to fall to her death when suddenly she felt a hand grab her arm. She looked up and saw Jake hanging from a tree branch. He must have only just caught the branch. He hung on to it and her and looked down. It was a large drop.  
"Damn." he murmured. A lone zombie staggered round the corner. Michelle aimed her submachine gun at it, and shot at the zombie. It slumped backwards, blood oozing from the hole in it's skull. Suddenly she heard a cracking noise. The branch fell slightly. "Oh dear." she heard Jake say.   
"What do you mean, 'Oh dear'?" she asked angrily. The branch snapped of and the pair plummeted to the ground.  
The branch below them stopped them hitting the ground, but the impact broke it off. They crashed through four other branches before hitting the ground. Jake limply picked himself up with one arm. He had cut the other badly. Michelle stood up, not as badly injured as Jake.  
They ran out of the car park, away from the building. They got to a road when... Boom! the buildings second, third and fourth floors emitted large clouds of flame, and the building seemed to fall into the ground. They sheltered behind a nearby car until the dust settled, then Jake smashed its window with the butt of his gun.  
He unlocked the car and opened the door. He sat in the drivers seat and went for the ignition. No keys. "Shit." Jake murmured. Michelle sat in the seat next to him. Jake opened the sun-guard, and the shiny car keys fell onto his lap. He placed them in the ignition and turned them. "C'mon, c'mon!" Jake said impatiently. The car roared to life. "Bitchin'." said Jake, and burned rubber down the street.  
  
Edwards, Dave and Kylie left the house. The zombies from last night had gone, and the street was deserted. They walked over to a nearby car, and Edwards smashed the window with his gun. He unlocked the door and got in. He unlocked the other doors, allowing Dave and Kylie to enter. As they did, Edwards reached under the car. "What are you doing?" Kylie asked.  
"Hot-wiring this thing." Edwards answered. Dave looked out of the back window. About 15 zombies were coming towards them.  
"Hurry up!" he said.  
"Why?" Edwards asked.  
"There's a lot of zombies heading this way." Dave answered.  
"Damn." Edwards murmured, hurrying up. The zombies stumbled closer.  
"Hurry up!" Kylie shouted.   
"Alright!" Edwards shouted back. The car suddenly roared to life, and Edwards sat up straight. He hit the accelerator just as the first zombie lunged for the car. It fell to the ground as the car sped down the road. "There." Edwards said, smiling. "Where to now?"  
"There should be an airport near here." Dave told him. "We should be able to get a plane or something from there."  
"Sounds good. Let's do it." Edwards replied. "Just tell me the directions.  
  
It had been about 15 minutes since they left the building. Frank was looking at the map and was giving directions to the port to Mike. Other Marines were reloading their guns, others were asleep. Anna was still looking out of the back of the van. She was thinking of Jake. She loved him. Couldn't get him out of her head. She couldn't forget him falling, crashing, not moving. She knew she'd never see him again. She may as well let herself be taken by the monsters. There was nothing worth living for. She could end it now. One shot in the head, all her problems would be gone.   
Her eyes filled up with tears again. Suddenly the van stopped. Anna looked around. "What the hell?" she asked.  
"We're stuck. Someone help push the van out." Mike said. Stuart and Dan opened the back of the van and stepped out.  
"On three." Stuart called. "One, two..." Mike hit the pedal, spraying mud over the two pushers. They shielded there eyes from the spray, then Stuart walked to the drivers seat door. Mike looked at him. "I said on three! Not two!" he said, annoyed by the fact he was drenched.  
"Sorry, I misheard." Mike explained.  
"How can you mistake three with two? One comes a full second behind the other! Now, we'll try again. On three." Stuart told him, emphasising the three, and also holding up three fingers. Mike nodded.  
"Three." Stuart nodded back and walked back around. "On three, right?" Mike called.  
"Yes. Three." replied Stuart. He positioned himself again, as did Dan. "OK. One. Two. Th..." Mud sprayed up them again. When it stopped, Stuart walked up to the driver's side again. He looked at Mike.  
"Sorry..." Mike said.  
"On one. OK? One. Right before two. The first number. One. Un. Ok?" Stuart said, and repositioned himself. "Right then. One!" He and Dan pushed the van, and Mike pushed on the pedal. More mud splattered them, but the van soon became unstuck.  
Anna looked out of the back of the van, now not as deeply sad because of the events that just happened. Then something caught her eye. Something large and fast. It seemed alive, and was gaining on them. Anna wiped the window. Now she could see the monster more clearly. It appeared to be a cockroach, only larger. A lot larger. Nearly the same size as the van they were in. Anna spoke without taking her eyes of the monster. Only Mike, Frank, Dan and Stuart didn't notice it because they were either at the front of the van, or trying to get back on it. "Mike..." Anna called.  
"Yeah?" he asked.  
"Look behind us." she said, seemingly calm.  
"Why?..." he asked as he looked at his wing mirror. He saw the huge bug. "Holy fucking Christ... Stuart, Dan, get your slow asses back in here now!" he shouted to the two men still running behind the van as he slammed down on the pedal. They started pulling away, and Dan and Stuart jumped in the van. They turned around and saw it.  
"What the shit is that?" Dan asked, knowing nobody else knew the answer. Suddenly the creature's back split open and a pair of huge wings emerged. The creature took off suddenly and flew above the van.  
"Where did it go? Where is it?" Stuart asked quietly. His question was answered as a large brown claw smashed through the roof and sliced through his helmet, missing his skull by a few fractions of an inch. Everyone in the back fired at the claw and roof repeatedly, but the shock of the claw rocking the van knocked Dan off his feet. He smashed through the doors in the back, but grabbed onto the handle.  
"Ah, shit!" Suddenly the creature's claw grabbed him and pulled him onto the roof. The others could hear him screaming, then the creature ripping him apart. Blood spewed through the holes in the roof, splattering the Marines. Mike carried on driving at high speed and Frank tried to hide under the dashboard.  
  
Jake didn't know a great deal about cars, but he knew that the car he was in had to be faster than the van he had seen the others leave in. He used the wheel tracks as a rough guide, and also tried to remember what the map looked like as he knew where they were heading.  
He watched the road, but started talking to Michelle. "Alright, Michelle. There's something you're not telling me, isn't there." he said. Michelle looked at him.  
"Why do you say that?"  
"Because someone doesn't go out of there way to detonate an entire building while something like this is going on, without a purpose. That purpose was to kill one of us. Now, I'm just a Marine, and I only know two things that are going on. Jack and Shit. So you must know something. And I want to know what it is." Jake explained.   
"You know as much as I know." Michelle told him.  
"Is that the truth?"  
"Yes." Michelle looked at the road ahead. Suddenly she remembered something. "Wait a second,"  
"What?" Jake asked.  
"Pete gave me a disc just before he was killed. He said it was important, but I didn't think it would get me killed..."   
"Do you still have it?" Jake interrupted. Michelle took something from her pocket.  
"Yeah." she said, making sure it wasn't damaged. She opened the plastic case and checked it. It looked fine.  
"Have you used it yet?" Jake asked. Michelle shook her head.  
"No. I never got the chance to." she said. Jake took it.  
"I'll look after it for now. Maybe it'll come in useful. It probably explains what the hell is going on."   
A little while later he heard what sounded like very faint gunfire. He swerved round the corner and spotted the van the others were in, but this time it had what appeared to be a giant insect on top of it. "What the hell?..."  
  
Anna was to busy firing at the creature on top of the van along with everyone else to notice the car following them. She stood near the back two doors and kept firing into the roof. Suddenly the large claw swung and slammed into her. She crashed into the doors, one of which broke off. Anna fell through the gaping hole and hit the tarmac hard. The wind was knocked out of her and she rolled along the ground. She heard the screeching of tires from behind her. She rolled over to see what was happening and saw two black wheels close to her face. She heard the door open and someone step out.  
"Come on. I got an idea." came a voice. Anna thought she recognised it.  
"Jake?" she said, still winded from her fall. The person picked her up and quickly helped her into the car. The man got in the driver's side and drove after the vehicle. Anna got her vision back completely and looked at the driver. "Thank God you're not dead. I thought I lost you back there." she said to him.  
"You don't get rid of me easily." Jake replied.   
"Where's Michelle?" Anna asked.  
"I'm here." came a voice from the back seat. Anna turned around to see the girl sitting behind her.  
"What the hell is that thing?" asked Jake.  
"I don't know, but it killed the fed, whatever it is." she said. "We gotta help them."   
"I know." he said. He took his gun out with one hand to check it was loaded.  
"That thing has armour. You can't shoot it." Anna explained.   
"Can you drive?" Jake asked her.  
"Yeah, why?"   
"You're driving." Jake told her.   
"Shit." she said as Jake punched the sunroof out. Michelle looked out of the rear window and saw it clatter on the road behind them. When she turned around again, Jake was halfway through the gaping hole in the roof of the car. Anna shuffled into the driving seat  
"Jake, what the hell are you doing?" Michelle called to him. He didn't answer, instead he fired at the creature on top of the van. The bullets smacked into the shell of it, but the massive bug seemed unaffected. Jake climbed through the gap, and stuck his head back in the car.  
"Get me in front of them." he shouted. Anna swerved round the side of the van and slowly overtook it. Jake clambered onto the boot of the car and knelt down.  
As the car overtook the van, Mike noticed Jake on the car. He looked puzzled as to what Jake was going to do next. Jake could see and hear the other Marines firing at the creature. The car drove in front of the van and Jake jumped onto the front of it. He drew his gun and thrust it at the large bug as it raised it's head. The barrel of the gun slid into the monster's mouth and it gripped down on it. Jake tried to pull the gun out but the monster wouldn't let go. The creature made a hissing sound at Jake. Jake looked into the black, shiny eyes.  
"Same to you, shit-face." Jake pulled the trigger and white, gooey liquid sprayed out of the back of it's neck. The monster collapsed and rolled off the van, its claw ripping off as it got caught in the hole it made in the roof. The gun stayed clenched in it's jaws and Jake let go of it.  
Before he could do anything else, The van stopped and Jake rolled forward off the bonnet. Mike jumped out of the van and ran up to Jake, who was now lying on the floor. "Are you all right?" he asked. Jake picked himself up.  
"No, I'm not all right. You nearly ran me over." he said.   
"We thought you were dead, man." Rob said, jogging up to them. The other Marines followed him, as did Frank.  
"Not yet." Anna and Michelle ran up behind Jake. Jake looked at the van. It was a mess. "Does it still work?"  
"Should do. It'll get us to the port, at least." Mike explained. Jake nodded.   
"Let's go then." As the Marines separated into two groups and entered either the car or the wreck of a van, the shadow of a man fell onto some nearby bushes, then disappeared.  
  
Neil walked into yet another room in the lab building. Smith should have the samples and have got away by now, but Neil had to make sure. He checked all the cupboards, desks, everything. He walked into another room and saw Willow pointing a gun at him. "Hi, asshole." Willow said.  
"You should be dead." Neil told him, not even panicking.  
"Well, I'm not. Surprised?"  
"Yeah. No matter." Neil said, then grabbed Willow's arm and threw him onto a piece of machinery against the wall. "I'll make a better job of it this time." Willow pressed a button, and part of the wall next to them slid down. Neil looked at it, then walked over to Willow. He was about to grab him, when he rolled out of his way, grabbed the gun and spun round. Neil turned to see Willow fire three shot's into his chest.  
"Die, you son of a bitch!" Willow shouted as he shot another four times. The bullets knocked Neil backwards, sending him through the new hole in the wall, down into a pen. Neil hit the floor, and everything went black.  
  
The Marines arrived at the port an hour later. It was still light. A few zombies roamed about the entrance, but the Marines took them out with ease from their transports. They stopped outside a huge, dull coloured building. The Marines got out of the vehicles and met in the middle.   
"Is this the lab?" Jake asked.  
"According to the map it is." Frank replied. Jake looked around at the port. No boats whatsoever.   
"Well, we ain't exactly going nowhere, we may as well check out this place. There may be a radio so we can call for help, there is probably even a cure for this disease." Rob said. Jake nodded. So did most of the others.   
"Stuart, Michelle, you two check that boat over there. Make sure it's safe. We'll check the lab." Jake said to the two youngest members.  
"No problem." Stuart replied. Jake turned to the others.  
"Let's go." he said, and they entered the lab.  
  
Edwards, Dave and Kylie drove down the road. As they turned the corner, they saw what they'd been looking for. The airport. "It's smaller than I thought." Edwards said.  
"It'll do, though." Dave told him. Edwards turned into the small road leading towards one of the hangars. He parked the car, and the three got out. "There should be something in here." he said.  
"Let's find out." Edwards said, checking the ammo in his pistol. They walked through the door, into the hangar. There was two helicopters. There was also a lone zombie near them, chewing on the remains of someone. Edwards aimed his gun at it and fired, hitting it in the head. It dropped down before it realised what was happening.  
"Good shot." Kylie said. They walked over to the helicopters. Neither had any fuel.  
"Shit." Edwards said. "We'll need to refuel these things."  
"No probs." Dave said. "How?"  
"Don't worry. I know how." Edwards said. Suddenly the door burst open, and someone ran into the hangar. Edwards raised his gun at the person. "Freeze!" he yelled. The other man swung round, aiming a pistol back. He was wearing a Marine's uniform, but he wasn't in Edward's team.  
"Don't move!" the man shouted back. Then he noticed Edward's uniform. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"Captain Edwards. US Marines. Who the hell are you?" Edwards answered, not moving his gun away from the man.  
"Adam Smith. I'm a Marine, too. I was in the first team. We were attacked by those zombies. I think I'm the only one left." answered the man, also not altering his aim. "Where's your team?"  
"They're probably already off the island. It's a long story." Edwards told him. He finally lowered his berreta, as did Adam. "We've gotta refuel these. If you help, we'll be done faster." Edwards said. Adam walked over to them.  
"No problem."  
  
Inside the building, everything seemed neat and tidy, as if nothing had happened. They walked through the building, staying alert for anything hostile. Nothing. Not even any bodies.   
Eventually they got to a large hall. Wires were strewn everywhere. It was the first messed up room they had come across. And what they saw at the back of the room stopped them dead in their tracks. Fear took over their bodies more than at any other time on the island. Nobody moved or spoke, nobody even dared to breathe.   
At the opposite end of the room was a huge container. Inside the container was what looked like what they had been taught a dinosaur looked like. Not just any dinosaur at that. It was a massive T-Rex. It seemed asleep, but wires poked into it and it was floating in a strange liquid.   
Finally, Anna broke the deadly silence. "What the hell...?" she whispered. As she spoke, the monster's tiny eye snapped open.It observed the group as they stood unable to run. It watched them for a moment then smashed its head against the glass surrounding it. The group were startled by the sudden movement, but then relief came over them. The monster could not get them because it couldn't break the surrounding material.  
Jake walked slowly up to the cage and looked at the monster. "Careful..." Rob said quietly. Jake turned around.  
"Hey, man. Don't worry. This thing is solid as a rock." Suddenly the monster's skull smashed through it's surroundings and swung at Jake. He rolled out of the way just in time. The pinkish liquid poured onto the floor.   
"Shoot it! Shoot it now!" Mike ordered, and everyone fired at the monster. It seemed unaffected by the bullets, and smashed out of the casing. The bullets bounced of the monster's skin as it lumbered toward the group.   
"Watch out!" Jake yelled as the monster moved closer. Everyone dived to their side just as the monster lunged for them. The monster opened its mouth...  
And caught Tim's boot. The massive jaws slammed shut, tearing his foot off. "Ah! Shit!" Tim screamed. He swung his gun at the monster and fired into it's head. The monster didn't react to the gunfire and swallowed Tim whole.  
The other Marines heard Tim yell out as the monster started to feed on him and knew they couldn't do anything to help him. Jake turned and headed for the exit. "This way!" he shouted. The others followed him. They ran down numerous corridors until they could no longer hear the massive creature. They slowed down.  
"What the hell was that?" Frank asked.  
"I wish I knew." Jake answered. They were getting their breath back when suddenly a smaller version of the monster they encountered leapt from the corner and latched onto Gary's back, tearing at him.  
"Shit!" Anna shrieked and they ran off again. Jake spotted an air vent on the wall and instantly shot the metal barring the hole out.  
"In there!" he ordered and ran full pelt towards it and dived forward. He breathed in, making himself as thin as possible. He slid into the vent and started crawling. Anna was directly behind him, then Rob, then Frank.  
Mike got halfway in when lizard-like claws grabbed his legs. "Shit!" he shouted as he was dragged back. The sound of his screams and his flesh being torn echoed through the vent.  
Rob slammed his fist onto the cold metal surroundings of the vent. "Damn!" he said.   
Jake recognised the sound of Mike's death. It was like the killing from the tape recorder they heard before the mission. That meant there definitely was a radio in the building somewhere.   
The rapidly decreasing group crawled through the air vents, trying to make as minimal sound as possible. "Do you know where we are going?" asked Anna.  
"No." replied Jake. "But at least we're safe in here." As he finished, the metal below him gave way. Jake fell through the hole, but Anna grabbed his leg. Jake looked up at here. "Cheers." he whispered. Anna started to pull him up, but didn't have the strength. The vents were so narrow as well, so neither Rob nor Frank could help.   
"I can't hold on much longer!" Anna warned. Jake looked around. Suddenly in the corner he spotted something. It was a communications desk. A feeling of relief swept over Jake. Soon they could escape. He looked up again.  
"When I say, drop me." he said.  
"Why?"  
"So I can get to that radio and we can get the hell outta Dodge." Jake replied. "Ready..." suddenly one of the smaller monsters smashed through the door and squealed. It happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Anna accidentally let go of Jake's leg.   
Jake landed on a desk and the monster jumped at him. Jake rolled towards it, and fell off the table as the claws came inches to his back. Jake stood up and aimed his gun at the monster. It looked at him and squealed again. "Take a bite of this, you bitch." he said and pulled the trigger. Dead click. Jake looked at his gun in disbelief. "Shit." he said. The monster launched itself at him.  
Jake heard about five gunshots, then the monster knocked him off his feet. He knew he was going to die. But the monster didn't attack him. Instead it laid next to him, it's body containing five fresh bullet wounds. One was in the place where the creature's eye once was. Jake stood up and looked up at Anna. "Why d'ya let me go?" he asked. Anna looked at him, embarrassed.  
"Oops." she said. She put her gun away and clambered out of the hole, landing on the desk.   
"Oops?" Jake asked. She rolled off, then Rob landed on it feet first. He stepped off, then Frank landed on his front with a thud.  
"Ouch." Rob observed. Frank picked himself up. Rob laughed at him.  
"That wasn't funny." Frank stated. Jake reloaded his gun and walked over to the radio.He turned it on and flicked a switch.  
"Hello? Can anybody hear me? Over. Do you copy? Over. Anyone?" Jake looks at the others. "I'll keep tryin'. Don't leave this room. Block all the entrances." he said. Then he turned to the radio again and kept trying to get a signal.  
As Anna and Rob moved desks and chairs in front of the door, Frank looked around, feeling like a fifth wheeler. He looked over to a computer and decided to use it. He walked over to it and sat down in front of it. "Let's see if this thing still works." he said to himself. He flicked the computer on, and it hummed into life. "Bingo." he said. Rob and Anna looked over to him.  
"What ya got?" Rob called.   
"I'm gonna check this thing out. See what's on it." Frank replied, not taking his eyes off the screen. A screen appeared asking for a pass code. "A pass code? This better be good." he said.   
"Can you get in?" Rob asked, walking towards him. Anna followed.  
"I haven't found a system yet which I can't get into." Frank said. He tapped the keys quickly. The words 'Access Denied' popped up frequently. "OK, OK. Stop reminding me." he told the screen. Suddenly the screen flashed and changed appearance. "Piece of piss." Frank stated.  
"Well done." Rob said. Frank watched the screen. It was just like a normal computer.  
"Damn." Frank said.  
"We can listen to music, play a game on this thing. Anyone got a CD?" Rob joked. Jake turned around and ran over to them. He took the black plastic case out of his pocket and handed the CD to Frank.  
"Check this out. Michelle had it. It must be what that scientist was looking for." said Jake. Frank took it and placed it in the computer. Jake ran back to the radio and kept trying to get someone to hear him. Frank watched as a menu screen came up. He clicked on an icon. Lines and lines of words appeared. Frank read them.  
"Holy shit. This explains what the hell is going on at this island. Says the "Anomalies" were formed by a new kind of virus. The virus is not man-made, it's natural only to this island. Only now has it been infecting people and animals because there was an outbreak in the labs. Wait... The outbreak occurred because the highest ranking scientist, a doctor Alfred Willow, let it loose. God knows why.   
"If we become infected, we have three hours until we are totally affected. The virus is transmitted by blood. So don't get into any contact with it. It totally screws around with your nervous system. All emotions lost, including fear, pain and love. It affects all living things. Not just humans."  
"Well, what the hell are those things in the building?" Anna asked.  
"It says here that the original experiment occurring was... to bring back prehistoric creatures long extinct. That basically means dinosaurs. These guys watched Jurassic Park a bit too much, I think. The virus must have affected them, to."  
"Dinosaurs?" Rob asked. "What a bunch of bullshit. Everybody knows they can't bring dinosaurs back."  
"Well, maybe these guys did bring them back. Explains what them monsters are. Besides, why would this lie? It's not like anyone would actually enter this lab, use this computer, break the pass code, then use this CD." Frank said. Anna walked over to Jake.  
"Got anything?" she asked.  
"I'm not sure," he answered. "I haven't got a reply, but someone might have heard the message."   
"Keep trying." she told him. She walked over to the barricaded door and looked through the tiny window. She stared through it, making sure nothing was out there, when suddenly one of the monsters heads appeared in front of her face. Anna jumped back as the monster called out. She watched as seven other monsters came round the corner.   
"What's going on?" Rob asked. Anna looked through the window again, and the monsters started ramming into the door.  
"Get back in the vent! Now!" she ordered. Frank ejected the CD and put it in his pocket. They could use it to prove what happened.  
Rob jumped onto the table and jumped up to the gap in the vent. He climbed up, followed by Frank. Anna clambered onto the desk and into the air vent, then squeezed her body round to look through the hole. Jake jumped up and grabbed the vent as the door shattered and the monsters entered the room. The first one spotted Jake's leg and leapt at it, but Jake lifted it through the hole and the monster's claw missed his foot by less than an inch.  
  
They'd finally finished refuelling the two helicopters when the radio system suddenly crackled. Edwards looked at it as Jake's voice came out of the speakers. "I'm gonna go get them." he said when the transmission finished. "Adam, can you fly?"  
"Yeah." he answered.  
"Good. You take Dave and Kylie, and get outta here. I'm gonna go rescue my team."  
"But, sir..." Adam started.  
"Do it." Edwards told him. Adams nodded.  
"Alright." he answered. The three humans got on the first helicopter and Edwards stepped away. Adam started it up, and flew the helicopter out of the hangar. Edwards watched it disappear into the sky, then got into the second helicopter. He started it up and took off, heading towards the co-ordinates given by Jake.  
  
Rob, Frank, Anna and Jake crawled through the vents again until it ended. They crawled out of the ventilation hole into a silent corridor. "Looks like this floor's deserted," Jake said. Suddenly a single gunshot sounded, missing Jake by inches. Jake, Anna and Frank quickly aimed down the corridor to see a man disappear through a door. Jake recognised him as the man that had tried to kill them in the hotel. He fired at the door in hope of the shot hitting the bastard in the back. No such luck.  
"I'll get him." Rob said, and ran down the corridor.  
"Rob, wait!" Anna shouted, but Rob vanished around the corner.  
"Let's go!" Jake said, and ran down the corridor as well. Anna and Frank followed him.  
At the end of one corridor, Jake saw the elevator door starting to close. He could tell it wasn't Rob because of the white lab coat. They fired at it, but all the shots ricocheted around the scientist. The metal doors slammed just as Jake reached them. He looked to his side to see a fire axe on the wall. He took it and prised the doors apart. He leant into the elevator shaft and fired rapidly at the bottom of the slow moving elevator. After six shots, Jake's gun was empty. He stepped back and faced the other two.  
"Did you get him?" Anna asked.  
"Maybe." he answered. Frank looked at the stairs.  
"Why don't we use them? We still have a chance of getting him." he said. Jake nodded, then ran at them. The other two did the same.  
As soon as Jake pushed open the door, he stopped dead in his tracks. Anna and Frank nearly ran straight into him. They all saw the explosive on the staircase. It wasn't a powerful one, but if they stayed where they were any longer, they'd be fried. "Run!" Anna screamed, and all three twirled on the spot and ran down the corridor.  
They got halfway before the staircase and it's surroundings exploded in a loud eruption of flame and smoke. The blast knocked the three over, hurling them forward.  
  
The explosion rocked the stairs, but Rob was at a safe distance. The explosive was so puny, It would only destroy the stairs. He walked up the stairs, until he reached the top floor. He walked across the hallway, to another set of stairs leading to the roof. He walked up them, and opened the door.  
On the roof was a gunship. It had a minigun on it, and Rob saw the scientist guy standing next to it. "Hello, Doctor Willow." Rob said to him.  
"Are they gone?" asked Willow. Rob shrugged.  
"I doubt it. That bomb was a piece of shit. I wanna take out the floor they're on before they gets away."  
"May as well."  
"Where's my money, Willow?" Rob asked him sternly.  
"When we get to safety, you'll get your money. Anyway, let's go. You'll have to fly. I can't." Rob walked over to the gunship and got in the pilot's side. Willow got in next to him, and Rob started it up. 


	5. Escaping the Island

CHAPTER 5  
  
Jake rolled over and sat up, looking at the mess. The elevator was blocked, and the staircase was gone. What remained was now on fire. "Shit." he said.  
"Now what?" asked Anna, also sitting up.  
"We gotta get back to the boat. It's our only chance now." Frank declared. Jake nodded.  
"Fuckin' aye." he commented. They all stood up and walked down the corridor and round a corner. Frank ducked down and put half his body in the air vent. He looked down the thin metal escape route and heard a hissing noise, then a scratching noise. He focused his eyes, and could just make out one of the lizard creatures slowly squeezing it's way through the vent.  
"Godammit." he said, then pulled himself out.  
"What is it?" asked Anna.  
"One of those monsters is in there." Frank explained. Jake quickly laid down and fired into the vent. They heard it scream, then silence. It was dead, but was blocking the vent. Jake stood up again.  
"That was the only way down." said Jake. Anna looked down the corridor to a room.  
"Let's check that room." she said, doubting it would help them, but it would keep them occupied. They walked to the door, Anna opened the door and stepped in.  
The room was empty, apart from the desks and chairs. As Jake entered the room, they heard a buzzing sound. It got louder quickly. As Frank stepped through the doorway, a gunship lowered into view. Jake looked at the pilot. It was Rob. A sudden wave of relief swept over Jake, but suddenly vanished as it had done so often now.  
In the seat next to Rob was the scientist. The relief was taken over by anger. Rob had betrayed them. "Son of a bitch..."  
Rob flicked on the microphone. "Don't be angry, Jake. You would be dead in thirty minutes anyway. We planted a nuclear bomb in the centre of the island. It will vaporise this whole island. But I thought you would want to die with a little more style. See ya, buddy."   
Suddenly the minigun at the bottom of the gunship opened fire at the three survivors.  
  
Stuart started to wonder what was going on in the building. The other eight had been gone a long time now. "Where the hell are they?" he asked.  
"They can't be much longer. Give them another thirty minutes." Michelle said. Stuart nodded. Then he heard a faint buzz, it gently got louder. "Look!" Michelle said, pointing upwards at the building. Stuart followed the direction of her finger and saw a helicopter facing the building.  
"Get it's attention! Get a flare gun or something!" he said, hoping the helicopter would notice them and rescue them. Michelle scrambled at the rear of the boat to find something to get them seen. "Wait..." Stuart told her suddenly. The helicopter started firing into the building.  
"What the hell...?"  
  
As the spray of bullets shattered the glass windows, Anna dived behind a large desk, Jake rolled the opposite way behind another desk and Frank jumped through the door, out of the room. Bullets peppered the walls, wallpaper and brick pieces spraying the two Marines. When the moment arose, Jake and Anna fired at the gunship. The bullets bounced helplessly off its armoured shell.  
Then the firing stopped. Jake peered over the desk and saw the gunship turn around. This meant one thing. "Anna, Frank, follow me! Hurry!" he shouted, then ran at the shot-out window. Without argument, the other two followed.  
The gunship started to turn again, now a safe distance away. Jake jumped through the window, and landed on a window-cleaner balcony. The other two landed on it also. "What the hell are we doin' out here?" Frank asked.  
"Grab onto me!" ordered Jake, knowing there wasn't enough time to answer Frank's question. Jake held onto one of the cables, The other two grabbed onto him.  
A couple of missiles launched from the side of the gunship, heading straight for the three on the side of the building. "Oh, shit! Shit! Shit! Jake, hurry the fuck up!" Anna yelled. Jake fired his gun at the cable, below where he was holding it. The cable snapped, and violently pulled them upwards. The yank was so strong that Jake nearly let go.  
As they flew upwards, the missiles drove straight into the room the three where just in. They exploded on impact with the walls, and sent a ball of fire and debris out of the windows. The explosion narrowly missed the three people as they shot skywards.  
Jake looked up from the explosion to where the cable was hooked over. It was approaching rapidly. "Ready..." Jake yelled. The end of the cable came closer. "Let go!"  
They did, and Jake stopped holding the cable. It slipped through the hook and plummeted to the ground far below. Jake, Anna and Frank carried on rising upwards, gradually slowing down. Jake and Anna landed on the edge of the roof, but Frank missed. Anna spun and grabbed his hand, nearly toppling over the edge of the roof herself.  
Anna pulled Frank back onto the roof, then they ran over to Jake. Suddenly the gunship rose into view again, ready to gun them down.  
But Jake dropped to the ground and rolled, firing at the cockpit. The shots cracked the glass, and finally broke through. Jake fired again, and the shot whizzed straight through Rob's shoulder. He tried to grab it, and the gunship jerked forward, then sideways.  
  
Dr. Willow grabbed a parachute and jumped from the cockpit as it jerked to the side. Rob was in pain, and was shouting as Willow left. The violence of the helicopter's movements sent various objects crashing to the roof from the cargo holder. But he didn't bother what with they where.  
He landed on the roof, rolled forward then ran to the edge of the roof whilst putting on the parachute. He jumped before the Marine had a chance to shoot him, and opened the parachute.  
  
As the gunship veered towards the ground, Rob jumped into the cargo hold. He realised there were no parachutes left. "Shit!" he cursed. "Son of a bitch!" He looked out of the open cargo door, but the gunship jerked, knocking him off his feet and into the air.  
Rob landed into a tree, and fell to the ground. He heard the gunship crash and explode, but realised that, somehow, he was still alive. He tried to stand up, but his legs hurt too much. He yelled in pain as he fell to the ground again. They were broken. Rob looked around, and saw a group of zombies approaching. "Shit!" he yelled, trying to get away. But the zombies grabbed him first. One bit a large chunk out of Rob's neck as he screamed, and the others started eating him alive.  
  
Jake stood up and watch the gunship disappear. "See you in hell, you bastard." Anna and Frank ran up to him.  
"Are you OK?" she asked.  
"Yeah. But the scientist got away. Took a parachute and jumped off the roof." Jake told her.  
"What do we do now?" she asked.  
"Look!" Frank said. Anna and Jake looked to where Frank was pointing. Another helicopter was approaching, piloted by...  
"Captain Edwards..." Jake said to himself. "Son of a bitch didn't die, after all." He looked up as the 'copter lowered itself down to the roof. They were safe.  
The roof underneath Frank suddenly gave way, and the large head of the T-Rex monster engulfed him. Jake and Anna watched in horror as the T-Rex swallowed Frank and their only evidence of what was going on. The monster rammed its head against the 'copter.   
The 'copter exploded in mid-air, pieces of metal digging into the roof, narrowly missing the two Marines. "Shit!" shouted Anna as the main hulk of the destroyed helicopter crashed into the door leading into the building, trapping them on the roof with this beast. Jake fired the rest of his clip at the monster. The shots barely scratched it. They just drew attention to Jake. The monster roared and stomped towards him.  
Jake tried to pull another clip from his belt, but he was out of them. "Shit!" he said as the monster came increasingly closer. He picked up a sharp piece of metal and threw it at the monsters skull. While it was distracted, Jake ran through it's legs. The monster slowly turned around to face him. Jake knew this wasn't going to work much longer.  
"Jake!" Anna called. Jake looked across the roof to her. She was holding something. "Catch!" She threw the object at him, and he caught it with ease. He looked at it and a new ray of hope came to him.  
Jake aimed the machine gun at the monster's head. The monster roared loudly at him again. Jake lowered the gun slightly and looked at it. "Roar all you want, pal. You're extinct again." Jake said calmly, and pumped hot lead into the monster's head, right through it's brain.  
The monster toppled over, dead. Jake ran over to Anna, who had found another machine gun in the wreckage. "Let's go." Jake said. Anna gave him a puzzled look.  
"Where?" she asked. Jake looked to the side of the building where the scientist had jumped from. There was another cleaning ledge.  
"We'll use that. At least until we can use the elevator." he replied. Anna nodded and they ran to the side of the building. Jake looked over the side of the building to the ledge. It was 10 stories down.  
Jake holstered his pistol, and swung the heavy-machine gun over his back, then gripped one of the cables. Anna did the same. "Ready?" Jake asked. Anna looked down.   
"Yeah." she replied.  
"OK, let's go." said Jake. They loosened their grip on their cable and slid down to the ledge. They landed safely, and Jake shot the window out. No monsters. "Go!" Jake whispered. They ran across the room, through the door and down the corridor.  
They reached the elevator without meeting any other monsters. Jake pressed the button, and moments later the doors opened. Both Marines stepped inside. Anna pressed the button to take them to the bottom floor and the doors closed. The elevator jolted, then descended slowly.   
"You ok?" asked Jake. Anna nodded.  
"Yeah. You?"   
"Yeah. I suppose so." Jake looked at his watch. "23 minutes left. It's gonna be close."   
"Do you think we'll make it?"   
"I hope so."   
"I mean, what if we don't? We are the only survivors of this whole thing. If we die, who's gonna know the truth?"  
"If we die, they win. And I don't ever want to lose. And I am not gonna lose today. We are gonna survive."  
"Even if we do, who's gonna believe us?"   
"I don't know. This whole thing seems totally unreal. We don't even have any evidence."   
"But why is that scientist nuking the place? This is possibly one of the biggest scientific finds ever. It's worth millions. It makes no sense."  
"We'll ask him when we find him." Jake said.  
The elevator stopped and the doors opened. The two monsters didn't have time to turn around before they were ripped apart in a field of bullets. Jake and Anna stepped out of the elevator and ran for the door. Another monster turned round the corner, but Anna shot it before it spotted them.  
They burst through the double doors and into the dock. Jake looked at the dock. One speedboat remained. They ran to it. Another monster followed them out of the building. Jake fired at it, and the monster collapsed into a crumpled roll. Anna reached the boat and jumped onto it. Jake did the same.  
As they landed, Stuart and Michelle stood up and aimed at them, before realising who they where. "Where are the others?" Stuart asked.  
"Dead." Jake replied.  
"Well, someone came round the back of the building and fired at us. The person missed, but we shot back. We hit a fuel tank, so he didn't get far." Michelle informed Jake and Anna.  
"Must have been the bastard from the roof." Jake said.  
Anna started the speedboat up and pulled away from the dock. Another monster jumped, landing on the boat. Jake shot it in the head, and it fell into the water.   
"Jesus! What the fuck was that?" Michelle asked.   
"Long story. Tell you later." Jake said  
The speedboat started away from the dock, and another monster launched itself at them. "Christ, how many of them are there?" Jake asked himself. The monster landed in the water with a splash. Jake let out a loud laugh. "What a dumb mother-fucker! Goddamn!" The monster surfaced and swam after the boat. Jake stopped laughing. "Oh, shit." He turned his head around to look at Anna. "Step on it!" he ordered. He turned in time to see what looked like a large shark chomp on the lizard monster. "What the hell is that?" The shark started to swim after the boat. "Oh, shit! That thing's coming right for us!"  
"What thing?" Anna asked, having to shout over the noise of the boat.  
"That thing!" Stuart shouted back. Anna turned around.  
"Holy shit!" Anna said. She turned back in time to see another boat glide next to them. She looked across at the driver. It was the scientist from the roof. "Hey!" Anna called. "We got more company!"  
Jake took his eyes off the monster, and used them on the boat and its pilot. "Goddamn!" He shouted at him. "Why can't you die?"  
The scientist jumped over onto their boat, landing next to Jake. The other boat swung away, and a lizard-monster jumped off into the sea. It couldn't keep up with the speedboat, and the shark bit it in half before chasing after the boat.  
As the scientist landed, he pulled out his gun. He shot Stuart in the shoulder, knocking him into the corner.   
"No!" Michelle shouted, and jumped down beside Stuart.  
Before the scientist could get a proper aim at him, Jake knocked the gun out of his hand. It landed smack into Anna's head, knocking her out.  
The scientist punched Jake in the face, and Jake staggered back slightly. He swiftly returned the attack by punching the scientist in the gut, then in the face as he bent down. The scientist kicked Jake in the side, knocking him over the back of the boat.  
As Jake went over the side of the boat, he managed to grab the edge of the side. He gripped it, the water smashing into him, almost dragging him under. All the while the mutant shark gradually gained on them.  
The scientist jumped next to Jake's hand and lifted his foot to crush the hand. Jake looked up through the spray of water, into the scientist's eyes. The scientist looked almost manic as he stared straight back at him.  
"Hey, dickhead." Michelle called to the scientist. He turned his head. Michelle fired a single shot at his head, but missed. Jake lifted his other hand and grabbed Dr. Willow's leg, pulling him overboard. But the scientist managed to grab Jake's leg also, and held on tight. Jake couldn't kick him, and the shark was getting closer.  
Michelle jumped to the edge of the boat and passed the gun to Jake's free hand. Jake gripped it, aimed it down his body with his free hand and fired. The shot ploughed straight through Dr. Willow, and his grip loosened. His body started to flip, but the shark quickly bit it in half.  
Jake stumbled to his feet, all worn out, and put the gun in his pocket. "Cheers." he thanked Michelle. He nodded to Stuart. "Look after him. keep pressure on the wound." he said. Michelle knelt down next to Stuart and did as Jake said.  
Jake pulled the clip out and checked how many bullets there were left. Four. He walked to the back of the boat and aimed at the following monster as it gained on them.  
Anna rubbed the back of her head. She looked behind her. "What happened?"  
Blam! The first shot hit the water next to the shark. Blam! Water again. Jake steadied his aim. Blam! The shot slammed into the sharks back. Nothing happened but a stream of blood seeped from the hole.  
"Kill it!" Anna shouted. Jake aimed the gun harder and steadier. The shark got closer. Blam! The shot ploughed through the shark's head. It slowed down, unmoving, before sinking. Blood stained the clear water as the boat sped away.  
  
"Cover your eyes." Jake said to everyone, and looked away from his watch.  
"Why?" Stuart asked, not bleeding as much.  
"Because a nuclear bomb is about to go off on the island." Anna explained. Instead of asking more, Stuart and Michelle covered there eyes. Anna did, and so did Jake. Because of this, they were unaffected by the blinding light of the nuclear blast. They heard the sound a few seconds later, a distant rumble now. They uncovered there eyes and looked behind them. The large mushroom cloud was far away. They were safe at last.  
"It's over." Anna said.  
"Thank God for that." Jake replied. Anna stood up and stepped away from the controls.  
"Where do you think we're going?" Michelle asked.  
"I have no idea." replied Jake honestly.  
"Do you think we'll find land?" Stuart wondered.  
"Our luck has to change for the better, doesn't it?"  
"I suppose so." said Anna. "Who's gonna believe us, though? There is no evidence of what went on here. "Jake put his arms around her. "We are the only ones who know. Dr. Willow wouldn't have sent any evidence to anyone else. Too risky. Only we know, and that will be how it stays." Anna nodded.  
"Sounds good to me." she said, and they kissed, leaving the horrors of what once was Johnston Atoll behind them.  
  
Adam Smith walked into the office with a suitcase in his hand. He placed it on the desk in front of the bald, large black man sitting at it. "Here is the package." he said. The man opened it and looked inside.  
"Excellent work, Mister Smith. You've proved to be a very useful person indeed." said the man. He took another suitcase from under his desk and handed it to Adam. "Here's your money." Adam took it from the desk.  
"Thank you, sir." he said, then hurried out of the office.  
"No, thank you." said the man, lighting a cigar.   
Adam walked outside the building and into his car. He placed the suitcase next to him and started the engine up.  
The man heard the explosion in his office. He could also hear a couple of people scream as it happened. The man smiled to himself, looking at his prize. "Thank you very much, Mister Smith." he said to nobody in the empty office. 


	6. Hell - A

CHAPTER 6  
  
FOUR DAYS LATER...  
  
Agent Greg Clayton walked down the corridor in the hospital. He was wearing a smart black suit, just like a typical FBI agent. He entered ward 11 and stood next to a patient's bed. He looked at the patient, then a nurse nearby. "Excuse me, is this patient the one brought in yesterday?"  
"There where a few brought in, but yes, he was brought in yesterday." the nurse replied.  
"How is he?"  
"He's fine, just sleeping." The nurse returned to what she was doing. Agent Clayton looked at the patients records at the end of his bed. The name read Jacob Foreman. The agent walked along the row, looking at each patients records.  
Jake woke up. He sat up slightly, then the agent walked up to him. "Good morning, Mr Foreman." he said, then showed Jake his badge. "I'm Agent Clayton with the FBI."  
"What are you doing here?" asked Jake.  
"Routine. You were found by a chopper in the middle of the Pacific. I'm here to find out what you were doing there with no food, water or anything with another 3 people."  
"We took a wrong turn."  
"I took the time to check your files,"  
"Well, ain't that sweet."  
"As I understand it, three of the four on board, including you, are marines. Your last mission was to investigate the island Johnston Atoll where strange goings on had been reported, including another team of marines to dissapear. After contact with your team was lost, the island was vapourized, and there where only 4 survivors out of a whole island-full. What happened?"  
"Look, I don't know. My mind is blank. I have no idea." The agent looked at Jake, knowing he was lying, then walked away. Jake watches him leave, then calls the nurse over. "Hey, where are the others?"  
"What others?" asked the nurse.  
"The other three I was brought in with?"  
"Oh, the two women are fine, but I'm afraid the other man died in the hospital. I'm sorry." Jake looked disturbed.  
"How did he die?"  
"It's strange, he just started to... decompose. Nobody knows why."  
"Where's the body?"  
"They're doing a post-mortam now."  
"You have to burn the body."  
"Excuse me?"  
"You must destroy it. It's important. If you don't, thousands will die."  
"Sir, lie down. You're still tired. You need rest." The nurse suddenly injected Jake's arm. He started to feel drowsy, then fell asleep.  
  
The coroner stood over the body of Stuart Miller. He clicked record on the tape recorder. "Today is the 28th of July, 2000. Time is... 11:32 AM. The body was once a Stuart Miller. He seems to have decomposed rapidly, I've never seen this before." The coroner takes a scalpel from the tray. "I'm now about to make an incision along the arm..."  
Suddenly, Stuart's arm grabed the coroner by the throat and threw him against the wall. Stuart stood up off the table and tried to grab the coroner. The coroner tried to swing the scalpel at Stuart, but the dead body raised it's arm. The scalpel dug into the rotting flesh, poking out of the other side of the arm. Stuart didn't even flinch, and bit the coroners arm. He screamed in pain as Stuart tore a chunk of flesh from the coroners arm.  
Two guards burst into the room and raised there guns at Stuart. "Freeze! Don't move!" shouted the first guard. Stuart walked towards them, and both guards fired at him. The bullets tore through his chest, but he kept on walkingtowards his targets. The second guard finally shot Stuart in the face, and the body dropped to the floor like a sack. They looked at the coroner.  
"Are you alright?" asked the second gaurd.  
"Yeah, I'll live." answered the coroner, bandaging his wound. He looked at Stuarts body, confused.  
  
Agent Clayton returned to Jake's ward as soon as he heard the news. He stood next to his bed. "Your friend just managed to wake up from the dead, Jake." he said. Jake looked at him suddenly. "What's the real story behind Johnston Atoll?" Jake swallowed hard.  
"Is Stuart dead?"  
"We think so. After you die once, then return to the living, it's hard to figure out your status."  
"How did you stop him?"  
"A guard shot him. Headshot."  
"He's dead."  
"What the hell is going on?"  
"The next plague."  
"What?"  
"Look, did anyone get bitten?"  
"The coroner, Luke Hitcher. I think."  
"You must kill him, too."  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
"When we went to Johnston Atoll the entire island was infected with a disease that basicaly turned the victim into a zombie. The island was destroyed by a crazed scientist, so nobody could get any evidence. We killed him, but if that disease is left alone, it will spread so quickly you won't be able to stop it."  
"This may sound slightly plausable, if it wasn't the same as a nutcase's story." Jake looks at the agent, confused.  
"What are you on about?"  
"Michelle Hays, one of the survivors, said exactly the same."  
"Because it happened."  
"She was realesed from an asylum two weeks ago. Or should I say escaped?"  
"What?"  
"That's right. Your friend is a lunatic. So's the other one. Anna Hawthorn. Same story."  
"It happened!" Jake shouted.  
"I think you may be insane as well." Jake jumped up and pushed Agent Clayton backwards.  
"Stop wasting time by pissing me off and kill the coroner, or we all die!" The agent punched Jake in the face, sending him flying.  
"Looks like all three of you are going back to an asylum. Hope you like it."  
  
Luke Hitcher got into his car and started it up. He rubbed his wound, and drove out of the car park. He drove down the road, and got to the end before feeling enormously sick. He stopped the car and got out, running to the bush. He threw up hard. His legs felt weak, and he collapsed. He felt his whole body weaken, then slowly passed out.  
A truck stopped next to the car. The driver got out and walked over to the body nearby. "Hey, buddy, are you alright?" Suddenly the body grabbed the driver's leg, and bit it. The driver yelled in pain, kicked the body, and limped back to the truck. He got in and sped off, holding his bleeding wound.  
  
Jake woke up suddenly and found himself in a padded cell. He looked around, and realised where he was. "Oh shit." he thought aloud, then ran over to the door. He looked through the gap. "Hey! Hey! Anybody?" A gaurd stepped in front of the door.  
"What?" he asked, bluntly.  
"I shouldn't be here..."  
"I've heard that before."  
"No, look... I'm a US Marine, you gotta let me out."  
"Sure you are."  
"If you don't let me out, everyone will die!"  
"Right, yeah. Sure thing." The gaurd walked off. Jake banged against the door.  
"Come back! You gotta let me out!" Jake gave up, walked to the back of the cell and sat down.  
  
The next day, the patients could walk around a certain area. Jake walked out of his cell and towards the main room. He walked into it, looking for his two friends.  
"Jake!" Anna called from the other side of the room. He walked over to her, hugged her and kissed her.  
"You alright?" Jake asked. She nodded.  
"Yeah. What are we doing here?" she asked.  
"That pain in the ass Clayton decided we where insane."  
"Why?"  
"Well, one factor is the story of what happened on the island, and the other is the fact that Michelle busted out of an asylumn recently."  
"What, our Michelle?"  
"Yup." Anna smiled.  
"Well, that explains some things." Suddenly Michelle ran over to them.  
"Hey, guys!" she said excitedly. Jake gave her a strange look.  
"You didn't tell us you've been to one of these before." he said.  
"I know. You didn't ask."  
"We should have known, though." Anna told her. Michelle looked confused.  
"Why? Oh, never mind. This place isn't so bad. Lighten up a little!"  
"Then why'd you try to escape?" Jake asked. Michelle shrugged.  
"I'm supposed to be insane. You know, do strange things, stuff like that. Anyway, where's Stu?"  
"Dead." Jake said bluntly. "Also, he was a zombie. The disease is spreading right now. And we're stuck in this hell-hole."  
"Well, it's not that bad. At least we're relativly safe." Michelle told them.  
"Actually, we're trapped. When the zombies come along, we're screwed." Anna answered. Michelle's happy expresion vanished.  
"That's not so good." she said.  
  
Henry Rabin sat down at his desk, and looked at the report. He was a luitenant for the LAPD. He looked at the photos. People had been found bitten to death, and were decomposing. The photos were pretty sick, but Henry had seen plenty of sick crimes. Though none like this. He checked through it, and found a file about someone admitted to a hospitol showing the symptoms. He looked at the name, Stuart Miller. He also saw that he'd been found with three other people. Jake Foreman, Anna Hawthorne and Michelle Hays. He saw they were transfered to a nearby mental institution. He took his coat and headed for the exit.  
He reached his car in the car park. It was dark, deserted and silent. Except for a shuffling noise and moaning. Henry looked around to see who was there. He saw nobody. But the noise continued. "Who is that?" he asked. "Are you alright?"  
A shodowy figure caught his attention by the corner. He looked at the man. It was to dark to see his features, so Henry ignored him and got in his car, closing the door behind him. He casualy placed the key in the ignition and twisted them. The engine roared to life just as the man outside smacked his hand on the window next to Henry.  
Henry looked at the man, and he looked like death on legs. In fact, like one of the recent murder victims. His skin was hanging off in flaps, bite marks in his arms. He looked like a zombie. "Oh, shit..." Henry said to himself, then slammed the accelerator down. The car flew fowards, knocking the zombie off-balance. He sped through the car-park.  
In front of the exit was another three zombies. They noticed the oncoming car, but instead of moving out of the way, they staggered towards it. Henry didn't slow down, and smashed through them at high speed. They seemed to burst, blood and limbs covering the walls, floor and car. Henry sped down the road, towards the asylum.  
  
Jake was sleeping in his cell when he heard an alarm ring out. He could faintly hear screaming. He ran over to the door and looked out through the gap. "Hey!" he called. "What's going on?" He knew the answer already, but there was no reply. Stepped back, and checked for the hundreth time to see if there was a way to escape. There wasn't.  
The lock on the door suddenly clicked, and the door opened. Outside where Anna and Michelle. Jake looked at them. "How...?"  
"I've done this before, remember?" Michelle said.  
"They're here." Anna told him.  
"Thought so." replied Jake. "Let's go." He walked out of the cell, then they ran down the corridor.  
They turned the corner to see a zombie eating one of the guards. "Oh, shit." Jake said. The zombie looked up at them, and groaned a reply. It stood up and staggered towards them. They took a step back and turned around to face two more. They were trapped.  
A gunshot rang out, and the three humans turned around to see the lone zombie drop to the ground. Someone was at the other end of the corridor with a gun. "Come on, let's go!" he called. The three ran down the corridor towards him. The man shot another three zombies round the corner.   
They reached the man, who handed Jake a gun. "You're Jake Forman, right?" he asked.  
"Yeah." Jake answered.  
"I'm Luitenant Henry Rabin. LAPD. I'm here because I need your help."  
"Ok." Jake said, shooting a zombie. "They're zombies. Don't get bitten, or contaminated with their blood. That way you stay human. Aim for the head, they dont seem to feel pain. If you see a family member, or a friend, who are a zombie, shoot them. They're already dead. Any questions?"  
"No. That was a nice round-up, thanks." Henry answered, shooting two more zombies. "Shall we leave?"  
  
The four humans made their way past the zombies, and got to Henry's car. They got in it, and Henry drove away fast. Jake looked at Henry. "How did you find us?"  
"This is my case. I found your story, and came over to question you three. Instead, I saved your lives."  
"Thanks." Jake told him. "Anyway, there's gonna be thousands of them things, so we need weapons. Stop at a weapon shop, will ya?"  
"Sure thing."  
They parked near a gun-shop. The street was deserted as they walked in. So was the shop. Everyone was cautious. "Where the hell is everyone?" Michelle asked.  
"I have no idea." Jake replied, walking behind the counter. He took his gun and smashed the glass casing, and took out another two pistols. He threw them to Anna and Michelle, and they caught them. He and Henry took four more, handing two the the women. They took a shotgun each, and two boxes of bullets each. They loaded the weapons, then grabbed some more weapons, putting it in a nearby bag.  
"This should do." Henry said, and they returned to the car.  
  
Agent Greg Clayton looked around as the FBI building was attacked by an army of zombies. He had shot four of them, the rest being taken out by the other agents. It was a full-scale war in there. He and three other agents ran to the back of the building, away from the zombies. They reached an elevator and squeezed in. Greg slammed the button to get to the bottom of the building.  
The doors opened, and the four agents were greeted by a dozen more zombies. They shot them all, but more came. They ran out of the elevator, down the corridor. They could see the exit. They took out more zombies as they ran. They reached the exit, and burst through the doors. There was another 20 zombies outside, all of them coming towards them. The four humans ran towards Greg's car, and got in. Greg started it up at the same time as closing the door, and sped down the road, running over a few zombies in the process.  
"Oh, shit. What the hell is going on?" asked Dave, one of the agents. Greg sat in silence. He already knew. Jake was right. He just didn't believe him. He thought it was his own fault this was happening.  
Something landed on the car's roof, smashing through it. It was big, definatly not a zombie. It landed on one agent, killing him instantly. The others screamed, just before the thing smashed it's fists into both of them, sending them straight through the door. It then grabbed Greg's skull, and threw him through the windshield. He fell under the wheels of the car, crushing him to death.  
  
"So, this disease, what exactly does it do?" asked Henry. They'd seen a fair few zombies, but were driving to fast to be attacked.  
"Basically turns you into a zombie." Jake answered.  
"It doesn't just affect humans, either." Anna added.  
"Yeah, there was this shark-thing when we were escaping. It nearly killed us all, and not to mention things like dogs. And giant cocroaches. And dinosaurs." Michelle said.  
"Huh?" asked Henry. "Dinosaurs? Giant cocroaches? We aren't gonna run into those things, are we?"  
"I hope not." Jake told him. "But... Oh, shit! Watch out!" A car came speeding round the corner, almost taking them out. The other car swerved, and smashed into the nearby lamp-post. Henry stopped the car and quickly got out. So did the others. They ran over to the car, and shot at the zombies. They'd also noticed another human.  
Henry opened the door. The woman inside was dazed, but otherwise fine. He pulled her out of the car while the others held off the horde of the undead. He helped her over to their car, and everyone got back in. Henry hit the gas before the zombies could reach them.  
Jake took over driving while Henry tried to get the woman to talk. "Are you alright?" he asked.  
"No. Not really." replied the woman. "Who are you?"  
"Henry Rabin, LAPD. This is Jake, Anna and Michelle. Who are you?"  
"Lucy Numan. What's going on?"  
"A virus has attacked L.A. and it's turning everyone into zombies." Anna told her.  
"That's impossible." Lucy protested.  
"No, it's real. We've seen it before." Jake said. "Anyway," he said to Henry. "Where to now?"  
"I don't know. Airport, I guess."  
"Sounds fine to me."  
  
The Marine group landed in the centre of the park. The 10 Marines jumped off the helicopter, and it flew away into the distance. They were armed with machine-guns, pistols, knives and grenades. They'd been briefed on the mission only an hour earlier. They were told to execute anyone they see, no questions asked. They followed their orders, firing at a group of 4 people. They looked strange, but they'd been told that they'd been infected with some kind of disease, turning them into a zombie-like state. The Marines thought it was a little far-fetched, but it obviously wasn't.  
Their second objective was to locate three people. They would not be infected, due to them having previously been given the antidote. They may not know this, but it was important that they found them quickly. They needed to know if the antidote actually worked.  
The Marines shot another group of zombies, before splitting up into two groups. They ran down seperate roads, shooting anyone they saw.  
  
Jake took a drag on his cigarette, before throwing the butt out of the window. They'd found a packet in the glove-box. Jake peered ahead of them. The night seemed, well, darker. The lamposts were not working, so the car's headlights were the only thing lighting up the road ahead. The streets were still inhabitated by the zombies, but they weren't much of a bother at the minuite. Best to save ammo.  
Suddenly, something very, very big landed in the road in front of them. "Oh, shit!" Jake shouted, as he swerved to avoid it. The car smashed through a gate, down a gravely path, and through a large bush. The vehicle came to rest shortly after.  
"Is everyone okay?" Henry asked. Everyone said yes, and they all got out of the car. They looked around.  
"Where are we?" Michelle asked. Jake looked at the house nearby. It was fairly big.  
"Let's check that place out. Maybe get some food and rest." he said.  
"Good idea." Henry replied. They walked over to it, and tried the front door. It was locked."  
"Try the back." Anna suggested. They walked round the back of the house, but that door was locked as well. Jake looked up. A window was slightly open. It was above the shed next to it.  
"I'll try there." he said, pointing to the window. He climbed on top of the shed, put his fingers through the small gap in between the frame and wall, and pulled it open. He climbed inside. He looked around, but the house seemed to be deserted. He walked out of the room, across the landing and down the stairs. He walked to the back door, and looked at the lock. Their was a key in it. Jake turned it, and the door unlocked. He openedit and peered outside. The others were still there.  
"Is it empty?" Henry asked.  
"I think so." Jake answered. "Come in." They entered the house, and Jake locked the door behind them.  
  
An hour had passed since they'd found the house. The television and radio weren't working, so the house was almost silent. Whoever had been here had left, because their was no vehicles outside. Rain splashed on the glass windows and ground outside. An occasional roar of thunder could be heard. Their had been a zombie in the house, but it was dispatched quickly by a headshot from Anna's gun.  
Michelle and Lucy were sleeping while Jake, Anna and Henry stayed up, keeping guard of the house. So far, they hadn't been disturbed by anything. Living or unliving. "So, we decided we'd better keep it secret in case someone tried to find it again. Didn't last long, did it?" Jake said, finishing the story of what happened before.  
"So, how come you didn't notice Stuart was bitten?" Henry asked. They shrugged.  
"He seemed alright. He'd been shot on the boat, but not bitten. That's what's been bothering me." Jake answered. Suddenly, they heard gunfire. It wasn't very far away, in fact, very close. It woke the two women up, and they ran into the living room.  
"What was that?" Lucy asked.  
"Someone's in trouble. We'd better help them." Anna answered. They grabbed a gun each and ran out of the house. They looked down the street to see about four people shooting something big. It seemed to be the thing that made them crash earlier. They ran to help them, and got their just as the thing ran away and dissapeared into some nearby bushes.  
"You guys alright?" Henry asked. The four men were dressed in Marine gear, and armed to the teeth. Another one was lying on the ground in a messy pulp. Jake, Anna and Michelle didn't feel this was a good sign. The leader looked at them.   
"Yeah. We're fine." he said. "Who are you?"  
"Henry Rabin, LAPD." he answered, showing his badge. "This is Jake Foreman, Anna Hawthorn, Michelle Hays and Lucy Numan." The Marine looked at them, recognising the names.  
"Ex-Marines?" he asked to the group.  
"Yeah." Jake replied. "How'd you know?"  
"We have orders to retreive you from the L.A. area." he explained. Jake laughed slightly.  
"Yeah, right. Why?" he asked.  
"That's classified." the leader told him.  
"Well, in that case, screw you." Jake responded. The Marines raised their weapons at them.  
"You don't have a choice in the matter." the leader declared. Jake just looked at him.  
"You really want to shoot us?" he asked. Nobody responded. "All hell is breaking loose around us and all you care about is your orders? We were Marines. We know what orders are. But they got almost everybody killed. So far your's have gotten at least one of your team killed. Ever start to doubt the higher authorities?"  
"They want to help you." the leader said. "That's all."  
"Why us?" Anna asked. "Before they couldn't wait to lock us away."  
"Look, I don't know. We get our orders, we carry them out, everything goes fine. We don't know exactly why they want you, and generally I couldn't care less. Just follow us and you'll be fine." the leader insisted. Before anything else could happen, a group of zombies attacked a Marine at the back. He didn't have a chance to retaliate as the zombies ripped a large chunk out of his neck.  
The other three Marines spun round and fired at the zombies, getting the wounded Marine in the process. Pieces of flesh splattered onto the tarmac, and another group of the undead started limping towards them from down the road, attracted by the noise. Jake looked around, and fired at the newer group. Anna, Henry and Michelle did the same.  
The first wave of zombies took out another Marine and started feeding on his arm. The Marine screamed in pain and pushed the zombie away. He fired at it's head, and it drooped to the ground. He clutched his bleeding wound whilst firing at more zombies.  
Jake looked around, knowing they didn't stand a chance staying where they were. "Everybody, this way!" he shouted over the deafening noise, and ran down the road. He fired at the zombies ahead, and the group fell to the floor. The others followed him, including the remaining three Marines.  
Jake led the group until they couldn't see any more zombies. They all stopped to catch their breath. "This anything like what you expected?" Jake asked the Marine leader. He shook his head.  
"No." he said. "This is far worse."  
"What's your name?" Jake asked.  
"George Patton." he replied. He looked at his team, noticing one had been bitten. He walked over to him.  
"Damn. We gotta get you to a doctor, Jim." George said, nodding his head slightly at the bleeding hole in his arm.  
"Where?" Jim asked. "Everything's screwed. Everybody's dead."  
"So are you." Jake told him, bluntly. The Marines looked at him. "Soon. You've been infected with it. The disease." Jim started to freak out.  
"No. It can be stopped..." he said, backing away.  
"He's right. We've gotta get him to a hospital, now!" George added. Anna looked around and saw a garage.  
"There." she said, running over to it. "Get in here, quick!" she ordered. They all ran over to her, including Jim. "The virus has only just been put in your body. We've gotta stop it from spreading inside you." she said, taking a chainsaw from the bench. Jim instantly knew what was happening.  
"God, Jesus, no fucking way!" he shouted, trying to get out of the garage. George grabbed him.  
"We need to do this. If we don't, you'll probably die." he told him. He was now frantic.  
"You're gonna beleive this shit?" he asked. "You don't know these people!"  
"We don't have time for this." Jake shouted at him, holding the chainsaw. "You have to trust us." Jim looked at the other two Marines. George grabbed a broom-handle and gave it to Jim.  
"Bite on it. Hard." he said. Jim took it, realising he had to go through with it.  
"We'd better hurry." Henry said. "Those things'll be here soon." Jim laid on a workbench, letting his infected arm hang over the side. Jake pulled the starting cord of the chainsaw, and it roared into life. Jim clenched his eyelids shut and bit down on the broom handle hard.  
"This is gonna hurt." Jake told him. Everyone turned away as Jake lowered the blade towards Jim's shoulder.  



	7. Animal Magic

CHAPTER 7  
  
The eight humans ran through the streets. Jim's stump was bandaged to hell, but blood still stained the white cloth. He was also in pain, but had to bare with it. The streets were surprisingly quiet and deserted. For LA, this seemed very strange. "Where the hell is everybody?" The other Marine, Simon, asked.  
"Shouldn't be this quiet." Anna stated. They carried on walking, then Lucy noticed something.  
"That doesn't look good." she said, pointing over to the zoo. The gate was buckled and torn open, and the cages they could see looked the same. The animals were out.  
"This virus affects animals, doesn't it?" George asked, worried if the answer was yes.  
"Yes." Jake answered. "Keep your eyes peeled. This day is gonna be worse than we all thought." Suddenly a large, white van swerved around the corner and stopped in front of them. The survivors stopped walking, guns raised. The sides of the van opened, and about 5 Marines jumped out, assault rifles pointing at them along with flashlights.  
"Freeze!" shouted the one at the front. Probably the leading Marine there. He looked at Jake, Anna and Michelle. He then looked at George, Jim and Simon. He didn't even glance at Henry and Lucy. "Take those three." he said to his team, nodding towards the first three. The Marines ran forward and grabbed them before they could retaliate. Henry stepped forward.  
"Where are you taking them?" he shouted. The leader turned to face him.  
"It doesn't concern you." he replied bluntly. George stepped towards him.  
"What about the rest of us?" he asked.  
"You've served your purpose." the leader told him. George stopped moving up to him.  
"You're leaving us here?" he asked. "We'll die!"  
"That's not our concern." the leader replied. Simon suddenly pulled his pistol out and aimed it at the leader.  
"We're gettin' on that van, mate." he told him. "You can either let us or..." Suddenly, half the Marines from the van jumped out again and fired at them. he spray of bullets tore through Simon, and he fired on the way down. He managed to hit a Marine before hitting the tarmac.  
Joe quickly rolled sideways, then jumped up and dived through the hole in the fence to the zoo. He laid on the ground behind a bush as the bullets flew around everywhere.  
Henry dived sideways into Lucy, pushing her to the ground as the bullets flew past them. He rolled to his side, taking Lucy with him, as the bullets ripped into the ground where they'd been moments ago. They jumped up and ducked down behind a car, trying to use it as a shield.  
George fell to the ground at the same time as aiming his assault rifle at the Marines. He pulled the trigger as he landed on the floor, taking two Marines out almost instantly. The leader dived back into the van, and it started up. Another two Marines jumped in, then the doors slammed shut. The van reversed as the remaining Marines were filled with lead, and spun 180 degrees before promptly racing down the street. George stood up and looked around. He saw Simon on the floor, unmoving and covered in his own blood. He then noticed Henry and Lucy walk out from behind the car. He walked over to them.  
"You two ok?" he asked.  
"Yeah." Lucy answered. She looked around. "Where's Jim?" she asked.  
"Over here!" came a shout. It sounded like Jim, so George, Henry and Lucy ran through the hole towards the voice. They reached Jim, who was crouching down.  
"What is it?" Henry asked. Jim pointed over to something in the zoo.  
"Look at that." he told them. They did, and saw a couple of beavers eating a dead tourist. Lucy gagged, and nearly threw up. Henry took her back into the street, away from the feeding frenzy. George and Jim stayed and watched.  
"Beavers? Why are they eating someone?" George asked.  
"I dunno." Jim answered. "Sounds kinda funny, though."  
"In a sick way, yeah." George replied. Suddenly, the two beavers looked at them. They squealed quietly, then waddled towards them quickly. They didn't look too menacing. Just like a couple of angry, hungry beavers. George and Jim pulled out their pistols and blasted them. George laughed.  
"Not to tough." Jim stated. They suddenly heard a low rumble.  
Henry looked at Lucy, who was leaning on a car. "You alright now?" he asked. She nodded.  
"I'm just not into seeing stuff like that." she explained.  
"Not many people are." Henry replied. Suddenly, George and Jim ran through the hole in the fence and towards them.  
"Run!" George ordered, running past them. Henry and Lucy followed the two Marines, wondering what was chasing them. Henry peered over his shoulder and saw a whole army of evil beavers chasing after them. Out of confusion, Henry kept running.  
"Why are we getting chased by beavers?" Henry asked.  
"Beavers?" Lucy asked, confused. She looked behind her. "What the hell?"  
"Just keep running. We're faster then them, and I have a plan." George told them.  
After running for a couple of minutes, George leapt up onto the wheel of a dump truck and smashed the window with the butt of his pistol. He quickly unlocked it and slid into the driver's seat. The other three jumped in, squashing together slightly as Jim slammed the door with his remaining arm. George looked for the keys and found them in the glove-box. He started it up as the beaver army turned the corner. George slammed on the gas, and drove towards them. Lucy closed her eyes, and the dump truck rammed into the tiny furry creatures. Blood sprayed upwards, covering the windshield. George used the window-wipers to clear it off as best he could. Jim looked out of the window and behind them. He saw a massive pulp of brown fur and a bloody mess. George carried on driving through the street, past the zoo.  
  
Jake opened his eyes slowly, and looked around slightly. There were about 5 marines in the van, 1 driver, Anna and Michelle. He looked at the Marines. "What's going on?" he asked. One of them looked at him.  
"We're gonna find out if it worked." he replied.  
"If what worked?" Jake asked him. Before the Marine could answer him, the van suddenly jolted and tipped onto one side. Everyone screamed, and the two women woke up suddenly. Something smashed through the side of the van and grabbed one Marine. He screamed as it crushed his neck into a paste. Jake grabbed Anna and Michelle, and kicked open the back door of the van. The other Marines were too busy firing at the massive creature to notice them escape.  
Michelle stopped after they turned the third corner. "Wait!" she told the other two. The stopped and looked at her. She pointed up the hill. "Up there. Factory." she tried to explain.  
"What about it?" Anna asked her.  
"We could use it to hide in. It's probably got loads of useful stuff in it." Michelle replied.  
"Good idea." Jake said. "Let's go." They then ran up the hill towards the factory.  
The factory was deserted. Nobody was in it, not even zombies. Jake, Anna and Michelle looked through the building just to make sure, then decided that it was empty. "This looks as good a place as any to find useful stuff." Anna stated. Jake nodded.  
"Yeah. But first we'd better find the others." he said.  
"Where the hell would they be?" Michelle asked.  
  
George drove straight through a group of zombies in the dump truck he was driving. As they mashed under the wheels, he laughed. Lucy felt ill from all the blood and sounds of death, and Henry held her arm. Jim looked at his stump, moving it around a bit. It didn't hurt as much anymore. "Hey," he said, mainly to George. George looked at him whilst driving down a straight road. "I'm not gonna get infected like this, am I?" he asked. George shrugged. Jim just looked out of the window again.  
"Woah, over there." Henry suddenly said, pointing ahead of them. A van was on it's side, and a huge hole was torn into the top. It was the military van Jake and his friends had been captured in. George stopped the truck next to it, and they got out to look at the mess. George and Jim walked through the hole, guns drawn. They saw the Marines from earlier ripped to shreds. But they couldn't see Jake, Anna or Michelle. They walked back out.  
"They're not here." George announced.  
"Where the hell'd they go?" Jim asked.  
"We've gotta find them." Lucy told them. "They'll die if we don't help them."  
"They're probably already dead." George said bluntly. "I say we carry on to the airport so we can escape this place."  
"Hell with that." Henry replied. "We'll find them first, then escape."  
"Why should we risk our lives for them?" Jim asked. "We hardly know them."  
"Because they know what's happening, and how to survive." Henry explained. "They've been through it before."  
"Good. Then they'll be alright without us." Greg replied.  
"Yeah." Henry said. "But we won't. We don't stand a chance. We need them to help us." Greg was about to say something, but let out a loud breath instead.  
"Fair enough." he said, giving in. "Let's go on a search." He got back in the truck, as did the others. George started it up again, and drove past the wreckage.  
  
"We're dead." Michelle stated, looking around. Jake and Anna looked at her.  
"We'll be fine." Anna told her. "We've done this before."  
"Yeah, but last time there was more of us, and less of them." Michelle reminded her.  
"We'll be alright." Jake said. "Henry and the others are probably on their way to the airport. We might be able to catch up with them."  
"You live in LA?" Michelle asked him.  
"No." Jake answered.  
"You know where the airport is?" Michelle asked.  
"No." Jake answered. "But there's gotta be a map somewhere. Probably in this warehouse."  
"I couldn't find one." Anna told him.  
"There's bound to be one at the zoo." Jake said.  
"Oh, no." Michelle replied. "Screw that. Those animals are probably infected. And free."  
"She's right." Anna stated. "What about the police station?"  
"Yeah. That'll also have weapons in, too." Jake agreed.  
"And zombies." Michelle added.  
"Yeah, probably." Anna told her. "But it's our best chance."  
"They could have a radio. We could call for help." Jake said, carrying on with the advantages of the precinct.  
"What, with the military on our trail?" Michelle replied. "They'd find us easily."  
"Ok, we won't use the radio." Jake said. "We'll get weapons, a map, then go to the airport."  
"Good enough for me." Anna told him.  
"I suppose so." Michelle added reluctantly.  
"We'll need something to drive." Jake stated. "I saw a car nearby, just down the road. We could get to that."  
"Well, the road seems deserted. May as well." Anna replied. Jake nodded, then jogged to the door of the warehouse. He looked out, down both ways of the street, then waved the other two out. They ran past him, and Anna spotted the car. She ran towards it, closely followed by Michelle, then Jake. She pulled at the door handle. It was unlocked, and Anna got in the driver's seat. She unlocked all the other doors. Jake got in the other side, and Michelle sat behind them. They closed the doors, and Anna looked around for the keys. They were in the glove-box, and she twisted them in the ignition. The car started up, and she drove it down the street.  
  
George suddenly stopped the dumpster dead in it's tracks. This surprised Henry and Lucy, who had fallen asleep, waking them up. Jim could see what George saw, and smiled. George looked at him. "Shall we?" he asked.  
"We shall." Jim replied, opening the door and jumping down to the road. George opened his door and got out, also. Henry and Lucy followed.  
"What the hell are you doing?" Henry asked, then saw them jogging over to the weapon shop nearby. He stopped in the middle of the road, and Lucy stood next to him.  
"What are they doing?" she asked.  
"Getting more guns, I think." Henry answered. The two Marines kicked the door open and ran in. Henry and Lucy heard a gunshot, then Jim leaned out of the door.  
"Make sure nothing's coming." he shouted to them. Henry held his hand up to him, Jim nodded, then went back in the shop. Henry changed his gesture, and stuck his middle finger up at where Jim was.  
"I just want to get outta here." Lucy told Henry. He put his arm around her.  
"We will." he told her. "Very soon, we'll be at the airport, and we can get a plane and fly to safety." Suddenly, a roar echoed through the cold night air. "Preferably sooner than later." Henry added after the roar finished. "Hey, guys!" he called to the two Marines. "Time to be going!" George and Jim walked out of the shop carrying about three handguns, 2 assault rifles and a shotgun each. Except Jim only had 1 assault rifle, because he only had one useful shoulder to hang it from. They obviously had a lot of ammo, too. They walked over to them.  
"I don't see anything." George stated.  
"Something's coming." Lucy told her. "Didn't you hear it?"  
"That thing probably wasn't coming anywhere near us." Jim argued. They walked over to the truck. Henry opened the door, and Lucy got in. Henry followed, and George passed the guns over to him. Jim gave them his guns as well, and walked round the truck to get in the other side. George started the truck up as Jim slammed the door shut. Jim looked at Lucy. "See. Nothing's coming. We coulda taken more weapons."  
"I think we have enough here." Henry told him. Jim turned his attention to him.  
"Don't forget that we've got the whole of LA's population against us. We're gonna need a lot more than that." Jim explained, angrily.  
"We don't have to fight everyone in LA." Henry replied. "Only those that are a threat. We only shoot if we have to."  
"You giving me orders?" Jim asked, starting to take a dislike to Henry.  
"I'm giving you advice on how to stay alive." Henry answered, also starting to get pissed off.  
"Shut up, both of you." George said suddenly. "I'm trying to concentrate. I don't need you two bitching at each other." Jim looked away from Henry, and to the road ahead. So did Henry. Lucy put her hand in his, gripping it. She put her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. Henry looked down at her, and rested his head back on the seat, and tried to get some sleep.  
  
Anna stopped the car outside the police precinct. They looked at it. It seemed quiet. "We'll go in the front. If there's too many, we'll come back here and get the hell outta here." he told them. Anna nodded. They opened the doors of the car and got out, guns drawn. They jogged over to the main entrance, and leaned against the wall next to it. Jake took in a long breath, then spun round. He kicked the door open, aiming his gun around the main room. Anna and Michelle followed. It was deserted.  
"So much for the difficult bit." Michelle said, walking in. Jake and Anna followed, keeping an eye out.  
"They must've left to find more food." Anna stated.  
"Probably." Jake replied. "May as well search the place. Be easier than we thought." He walked over to another door and opened it. The room was deserted as well. He looked at the other two. "This way." he said. They followed him into the room. Michelle quickly walked over to a desk and picked up a folded sheet of paper. She held it up.  
"Bingo." she said to the other two, who turned to look at her. She showed them what she'd found. "Map of LA. One for tourists. Which you can find in a lot of shops around LA. Why the hell'd we come here for?" she asked.  
"I forgot, alright." Jake told her. "Besides, this place'll have weapons. Normal corner shops don't." He turned around to continue searching.  
Soon, they found a set of stairs leading to the basement level. Jake looked at Anna. "I bet that's where they keep the guns." he told her, then took a couple of steps down the concrete stairs.  
"And prisoners." Anna added, then followed him. Michelle didn't say anything, and quickly followed Anna. Jake reached the bottom of the stairs, tightly gripping his handgun. He knew he didn't have a lot of ammo - about 24 bullets - so prayed he wouldn't meet anything undead. He heard Anna and Michelle's footsteps as the reached the bottom, and he slowly walked down the corridor. It was colder than upstairs, but not cold enough to make you shiver.  
Jake reached the end of the corridor. He leaned against the edge of the wall, then spun around the corner, aiming his gun down the next hallway. Nothing was there. He relaxed his aim, then nodded to Anna and Michelle. He walked down this new corridor, noticing metal cages in the wall. Prison cells. He looked in them as he walked past, and noticed a shape in the third one. Before he could say anything, the body pulled out a gun and fired repeatedly at Jake. He jumped backwards, leaning against the wall, out of sight.  
"Hey, hold your fire!" Jake shouted to the prisoner. "I'm not a zombie!" The person stopped firing into the wall. Jake peered around the corner. He saw a middle-aged man sitting in the corner, aiming a gun at him.  
"We're here to help." Anna told him, still hiding round the corner of the cell. The man slowly stood up, and walked to the metal bars for the door. He looked at the three humans.  
"You don't look like much of a rescue team to me." he stated.  
"Trust me, we know what we're doing." Jake reassured him. "Why don't you come outta there? It'll make it easier if we do things quickly." The man shook his head.  
"It's safer here." he told them.  
"From zombies, yeah." Jake replied. "But there are other things around, and they'll make short work of this door."  
"We don't have a lot of time." Michelle stated. As she said that, a group of 5 zombies turned the corner Jake, Anna and Michelle had gone round. Michelle saw them first, quickly followed by the other two.  
"Jesus, if you don't get outta there now, you'll be dead soon. Safe from zombies or not." Jake told him. "Now hurry up!" The man looked down the corridor and saw the zombies approaching.  
"If I die, it'll be your fault." the man said to Jake, then fired a bullet through the lock. The door swung open, and the man walked out. He aimed at the zombies, but Jake pulled him back.  
"They're not that bad a threat. Save your ammo." he explained.  
"Let's go..." Anna told them, looking at the closely approaching zombies. Anna and Michelle ran down the corridor, followed by Jake and the survivor. They ran through a door, and closed the door. There was a lock on the door, which Michelle quickly twisted. Jake turned around to see another corridor. He looked at the man.  
"Do you know where the weapons are kept?" he asked him. The man shook his head.  
"No. I didn't take a look around that much." answered the man.  
"Damn." Jake said, then started walking down the corridor.  
"Who are you, anyway?" the man asked him.  
"Oh, yeah. I'm Jake, this is Anna, this is Michelle." Jake answered. "Me and Anna were US Marines, Michelle was someone we rescued from zombies when this first happened near Australia."  
"When what happened?" the man asked.  
"These people have been infected with a virus. It also infects animals. It travels through the blood, so don't get any of their blood in a cut or something. And don't get bitten." Jake continued.  
"Sounds simple enough." the man told him. "My name's Paul."  
"Nice to meet you, Paul." Jake told him, carrying on walking.  
  
Henry drifted awake slowly and looked around. He was still in the dump-truck. Lucy was still asleep, Jim was looking out of the side window, and George was concentrating on the dark road. The only light was coming from the lamp-posts on the sides of the road. The roads had been fairly quiet, only the odd zombie shuffling down the street. They weren't much of a threat, so they left them alone. Henry rubbed his eyes and yawned, then looked ahead, down the road. Suddenly a large figure stepped into the path of the truck. "What the hell?" Henry asked quietly. He looked at George. George carried on driving at the thing, and hit it at full force. The truck shook violently, and the creature stabbed it's claw into the bonnet, making it impossible to shake it off.  
The impact woke Lucy up, and she saw the creature hanging onto the truck right in front of her. She screamed as George swerved the huge vehicle into a wall. The concrete slab crumpled to dust on impact, and the monster smashed through the building. The crash almost knocked the 4 humans unconscious, and George looked at the others. "You guys alright?" he asked. Jim groaned.  
"I think so." Henry replied. He looked into the rubble to see the creature stand up, seemingly unharmed. "Oh, shit." Henry murmured, unbuckling his and Lucy's seat belt. George did the same and jumped out of the door, followed by Henry and Lucy. George turned around.  
"Jim, get outta the truck!" he shouted. Jim stirred and opened his eyes to see the monster jump up onto the bonnet. He struggled to unbuckle himself, but he was too slow. The creature smashed it's fist through the glass wind shield, crushing Jim's skull into a red, gooey paste. Lucy screamed, and George turned and ran. Henry grabbed Lucy and followed him.  
  
Jake stopped outside a door. He looked through the small, bulletproof window to see weapons. "Bingo." he said to the others. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. He aimed his gun at the lock and shot three bullets at it. The door spat back glowing orange sparks, but didn't open. Anna looked at Jake.  
"Bullet proof doors." she stated. Jake put his gun back in it's holster.  
"Damn." he said. He looked to the side of the door and saw an electronic lock. "We need a key card." he stated.  
"And a passcode." Michelle added, eyeing the keypad next to it.  
"There goes that plan." Anna said. "We should just go to the airport and try to outrun everything."  
"That's not guaranteed to work." Jake told her. "But it's the only other plan we've got. Let's do it." He walked down the corridor and turned the corner. "We can't go the way we came. We'll never make it past those zombies." He looked at Paul. "Do you know another way to get back into the main building?" Paul shook his head.  
"No." he said. "There might be another way, though. I just don't know."  
"Well, no harm in looking, I suppose." Michelle stated. She opened the door next to them and walked through, looking both ways down the corridor. It was empty. She took lead, followed by the others. At the end of the corridor was a door. Michelle opened it, revealing a dark concrete staircase. There was a green, metal door at the top. "I think I found our way out." Michelle told the others, smiling. She ran up the stairs, and the other three walked. Michelle opened the door slightly and peered out. She saw what looked like the back of the police precinct. There were a couple of police cars parked next to a wall, and a large, metal fence opposite. On the other side was a road. Michelle turned around. "Found it." she said, and walked out into the night. Jake, Anna and Paul followed her, but as soon as they took their first steps outside, the gate opened.  
All four aimed their guns at the gate, and saw Henry, Lucy and George run through. "Over here!" Michelle shouted at them, trying to get their attention. Lucy turned her head and saw them, and ran over to them. Henry and George followed.  
"Get back inside!" Lucy ordered, looking at the door. Before anyone could ask why, the large creature smashed through the fence, twisting the wire like plasticine. Paul immediately headed back inside, followed by Anna, Jake, Michelle, Lucy, Henry and George. George slammed the door to the corridor shut, then noticed everyone slow down. He peered round the others to see a group of about fifteen zombies heading towards them.  



	8. Something old, Something new

CHAPTER 8  
  
The group of survivors looked at the oncoming zombies. "Oh, shit!" Paul said, loudly. "Now what?" George pulled out his handgun and squeezed past the others.  
"This." he told him, aiming the weapon at the zombies, and firing all fifteen shots off. Each bullet past through each individual zombie, and they all collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly. George reloaded his gun, and kept it in his hand. The exit walls started to smash and crumple, indicating the huge thing outside knew where it's prey was. However, the corridor was so thin and tight, it couldn't fit through to give chase. The humans didn't want to give it a chance, though, and quickly jumped over the group of corpses and ran down the corridor.  
The group jogged down the corridors, with Anna leading them. "We may as well go the way we came." she told them, but mainly to Jake.  
"You got any more guns?" Jake asked George, looking in his direction.  
"They're still in the dump truck we had." George answered. "That thing found us and killed Jim. It was the same thing that killed some of my men earlier, I think."  
"I gotta felling that thing's gonna be a pain in the ass." Henry stated. Anna reached the bottom of the steps.  
"We're here." she told them all, then walked up the steps. She got to the top and looked around. Deserted. They walked down the corridor, guns ready. "Must still be empty." Anna stated.  
"Thank God for that." Lucy said. Anna opened the door, and saw the creature that had chased them just before spin round to see them.  
"Get back down there!" Anna ordered, spinning round and running. Everyone obeyed without argument, and the creature ploughed through the wall, turning it to dust. The humans ran back down the stairs. The creature swung it's over-sized fist at Anna, missing her body by inches, and smashing into the concrete wall next to her. It realized it was too big to follow them down, and roared in frustration.  
"Oh, shit." Michelle said. "What now?"  
"I dunno yet, just give me a minute." Jake replied.  
"Well, we're fucked if we stay down here." Paul stated.  
"You got a plan, then?" Henry asked. Everyone was getting frantic, wondering how they could get out of their situation. Michelle screamed. Everyone shut up and quickly looked over at her. A zombie tore a chunk of flesh out of her neck, and she carried on screaming as she pushed it away. The zombie hit the wall behind it, then extended it's arms slightly to get back to it's meal. Anna quickly pulled her gun out and shot the zombie three times, all shots hitting it in the face. Fragments of brain, blood and rotting flesh slapped against the wall, and the zombie slid down to the ground.  
Michelle pressed her hand tightly against her neck, blood oozing through the gaps between her fingers. George pulled out his pistol slowly, knowing full well that she'd soon turn into one of the zombies, and aimed at her head. His finger tightened on the trigger, and Michelle looked into his eyes. He squeezed it.  
Jake noticed George point his weapon at Michelle, and quickly pushed his arm away, making George misfire. The bullet harmlessly hit the wall behind Michelle. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Jake asked George, shouting at him.  
"She's dead anyway!" George retaliated. "It's easier to kill her now then when she's one of them."  
"He's right." Michelle said. "I'm dead."  
"Michelle..." Anna said. "Don't talk like that."  
"I can get you outta here though." Michelle continued, starting to feel dizzy. "I'll give you three minutes to get to the back exit, then give me one." she told them.  
"What are you gonna do?" Henry asked her.  
"You already know." Michelle answered. "Now go." Jake was about to retaliate. Michelle knew it. "Go now!" she ordered him, raising her voice. "You got three minutes!" she added. The others turned and started running. Jake stood there for a while, then followed them. Michelle watched them leave, and leaned against the wall to support her. She started counting.  
After the three minutes, Michelle pushed herself off the wall and walked up the stairs. The thing had gone, but she knew it wouldn't go far. She walked down the corridor, then through the door. "Hey!" she shouted. She staggered into the center of the room. "Hey!" she called again. Suddenly, the creature burst through the wall in front of her, spraying dust and rocks into the room. It walked towards her. Michelle didn't say anything as it stopped right in front of her. She looked up at it, and let go of her neck. The creature raised it's massive fist above her, ready to bring it down and pulverize her frail body.  
  
Henry burst through the door to the small car park, aiming his gun around at anything that might be lethal. The creature wasn't there. Michelle's plan had worked. They ran back through the gate, and Henry turned towards George, running backwards. "Is it worth getting those guns?" he asked him.  
"We're running low on ammo, so I think we should go get them." George answered. Henry turned again, running forward.  
"What guns?" Anna asked, wondering what they were talking about.  
  
Michelle closed her eyes, waiting for the heavy impact the creature's fist would give to her skull. She didn't feel anything. She opened her eyes, and saw the thing turn to walk away. She felt her wound, and realized something. It wouldn't attack zombies. It somehow knew she had the virus, and wouldn't kill her. She ran over to it. "Hey, you!" she shouted at it. "What's the matter with you?" The creature ignored her. Michelle pulled her gun out, and fired up at it. The bullets punched into it's chest, but didn't affect the creature. Michelle stood in it's way. "Kill me!" she ordered it. It looked down at her, then pushed her to one side. She flew into a table, but got up again. She Picked up a plastic chair and ran over to the creature, smashing it against it's legs. The thing turned around and looked at her. "Kill me!" she yelled, throwing anything she could at it. The creature grabbed her head suddenly, and started to squeeze. It crushed Michelle's skull like a ball of paper, and brain matter mixed with a lot of blood seeped through the gaps in it's hand.  
  
The group of surviving humans reached the wreckage of a dump truck. "This where the guns are?" Jake asked. Henry nodded. George walked over to it, followed by Jake, Paul and Anna. Henry started to walk after them, but Lucy grabbed his arm. "I don't want to see Jim again." she told him, noticing the blood on the back window. Henry looked at the truck, then at Lucy.  
"Ok." He said, and stood next to her, looking down the road in case the thing was coming back. George opened the door, and Jake saw Jim's body. His face was mashed beyond recognition, and looked like a smashed egg. Anna saw it to.  
"Hell with that." she whispered, and walked over to Henry and Lucy. George climbed into the truck and grabbed some of the weapons. He passed them down to Jake, then some to Paul, then he grabbed the rest. He got out of the truck, and they walked back over to the other three. They placed the guns on the ground, and everyone took at least one.  
"This should last us 'till the airport." Jake stated, getting used to the assault rifle.  
"Yeah. All we need is something to get us there." Anna added. Jake looked at the map they'd found in the police precinct.  
"You're right. Airport's a long way away." Jake replied. He looked around and saw a parked car. "Let's take that." he said. George looked at it.  
"Fuck that." he said, bluntly. "I saw a better one on the way past. Fast car. Not like that heap of shit." he explained. Jake shrugged.  
"Ok, lead the way." Jake told him. George turned around and walked down the road, followed by everyone else.  
  
Dave Richards opened his eyes suddenly. He remembered sitting in a helicopter with Kylie Trent, and the Marine who was flying landed in a base of some kind. The Marine had jumped out, holding some kind of case, and then another group of Marines pinned him and Kylie down, and injected them with something.  
Dave looked around. He was in a small, cold cell. The walls were white, and felt like plastic. There was a transparent, plastic door. Dave touched it, wondering if it was electrified. It wasn't. Dave punched the plastic, then sat in the center of the empty room. He looked across at the other cells, and saw a zombie in each one. "What the fuck is going on?" he asked himself.  
"Dave?" came a voice from the wall. It sounded like Kylie. Dave stood up and pressed his ear against the cold wall.  
"Kylie?" he asked.  
"Yeah." Kylie confirmed. "Where are we?" she asked.  
"I have no idea." Dave answered. "Looks like some kind of prison."  
"Prison?" Kylie asked, her voice rising with confusion. "We haven't done anything!"  
"I know." Dave replied, looking at the other cages. "But something's not right. Why are there zombies in cages?"  
"I don't know." Kylie answered. "How are we gonna get outta here?"  
"I'll think of something." Dave reassured her. "I just need some time."  
  
George stopped the black car outside the LA Airport, in the car park. Everyone got out, and looked at it. "Almost there now." Jake said to them.  
"It's about damn time." Anna replied. They all gripped their guns tightly, and walked towards one of the entrances.  
"Take it we just kill all of them." Paul wondered aloud, looking over to everyone.  
"Depends if we have enough ammo." George answered. Lucy looked at the guns they had.  
"That a yes, then?" she asked. The reached the entrance, and George kicked one of the doors open.  
"Yup." George replied, firing a bullet into a nearby zombie's skull. This attracted the attention of more zombies. There were a lot of them in the airport, and the humans swiftly started taking them out in a wave of gunfire and blood.  
In nearly no time at all, the main hall was occupied by lots of bleeding, very dead corpses lying on the ground. The humans carefully walked past them, making sure none of them would try biting there ankles. They got past the crowd of dead bodies, and ran up the stairs to the second floor. There were a few zombies, and George took them out quickly. Henry looked at a sign pointing to the docking bay for planes.  
"This way." he stated, following the sign. The rest followed him, looking in all directions for zombies or anything else. As they turned the corner, they saw another group. Jake, George and Paul raised their weapons, but as they fired, the group dived out of the way, and round a corner.  
"Hold your fire!" Jake shouted, realizing that they'd found more survivors. "They're human!" Suddenly, one of the people turned his head and arm around the corner and fired a couple of shots at them. The group ducked and turned the corner again. Jake leaned against the corner, looking into the corridor. "Stop, we're humans!" he ordered. "We just thought you were zombies!"  
"Who the hell are you people?" came a voice from down the corridor.  
"Survivors, like you." Anna called out.  
"I'm gonna come out, ok?" Jake shouted. "Just hold your fire." When he said that, Jake stepped into the corridor, and saw three boys, aged between 17 and 19. They were aiming handguns at him as he walked towards them.  
"What are you doing here?" the middle boy asked, seemingly the leader. He had no hair, and the light reflected slightly off his brown skinned head. The boy next to him was black, with longer hair. The one on his right was white, with blonde, short hair.  
"Looking for a way outta here." Jake answered.  
"Well, you're shit outta luck here then." said the second boy. "All the planes have gone. Other people must've took 'em."  
"You sure?" asked Jake, not wanting to believe them.  
"Yeah. Why do you think me and my gang are still stuck in LA?" replied the leader.  
"Shit." Jake said bluntly. The others came out from behind the corner, realizing it was safe now. "No planes." Jake told them.  
"We heard." Paul replied.  
"There is one more way, then." George said, looking around at everyone.  
"What's that then?" Anna asked him.  
"There's a large underground facility in this city, where the military are testing on zombies and some other creatures. There should be some kind of plane or chopper there." George explained.  
"Uh-huh..." Lucy said, taking it all in. "And when where you gonna tell us this?" she asked him, angrily.  
"I thought it would be safer to take a plane from here. This base has a lot of security, not to mention creatures locked up. Who knows if they've escaped." George replied.  
"Do you know where this base is?" Jake asked him. George nodded.  
"I can take you to the back entrance, no sweat." he answered.  
"Good." Jake said, then turned to the three boys. "We could do with your's and your gang's help on this." he stated.  
"Hell with that." the leader stated. "We ain't taking orders from some middle-class white dude who previously tried to kill us."  
"Hey, me and her," Jake pointed to Anna. "We've been through this thing already. We know what we're doing. If you wanna chance at living through this, you'll help us."  
"We can take care of ourselves." the leader told him, and walked back down the corridor. Jake watched, then shrugged and turned around.  
"We'd better get there as soon as possible." he said. He looked at George. "Lead the way."  
  
Kylie laid down on her back on the cold, hard floor. She thought to herself about why she was in the cell, where they were and what was going on. She looked at the cells opposite her again. The zombies still walked around, occasionally banging there hands against the clear, plastic door preventing them to escape. She wondered whether that was what was going to happen to her and Dave.  
Kylie heard choking from the cell next to her. Dave's cell. Kylie instantly jumped up and leant up close to the wall, and pounded her fist against it. "Dave? Dave, what's going on?" The choking and struggling continued. Dave was dieing.  
Kylie ran to her door and smashed her hands against it. "Hey!" she yelled. "He needs help!" Suddenly, two scientists ran past her, and quickly swiped a key card through the slot, and Kylie heard Dave's door slide open. A few moments later, she heard what sounded like punches and kicks, and some painful groans. She tried peering as far round the corner as the clear obstruction would allow her, and then Dave spun round the corner. He made Kylie jump, then Dave closed his cell door, trapping the scientists. He unlocked Kylie's cell, and she ran out and hugged Dave.  
"We gotta move." Dave told her, and they both ran down the corridor.  
  
"Hey," Henry asked as George spun the car around a corner. "This virus, it doesn't affect stuff like trees and plants as well, does it?"  
"What?" Jake asked, confused.  
"Well, I was wondering if we ended up near some trees or bushes or something, if we would get attacked by them too." Henry explained. Jake laughed.  
"I think we're safe. I doubt we'll be shrubbed to death. Only living creatures get affected." he explained.  
"Oh, good." Henry replied, then sat back into his seat. Jake looked at George.  
"Where is this back door, anyway?" he asked.  
"There's a door in the subway." George answered. It's basically a fire escape. Nobody ever uses it."  
"So it won't be guarded?" Anna asked.  
"I doubt it. It's hidden." George replied. As he said that, he pulled the car over outside the subway station. "I'll lead you there. Just follow me." he explained, then got out of the car. Everyone did the same, and followed George down the concrete steps.  
After taking out the three zombies at the bottom, George jumped down onto the rails, avoiding the metallic tracks to avoid becoming crispy. The others did the same, and George led them down the train tracks, into what was almost pitch black. "What now?" Henry asked George, finding it very hard to tell where anything was. Suddenly, they heard a click, and a beam of bright light shot forward from George's flashlight. He aimed it down to check he wasn't about to electrocute himself.  
"Stay close." George ordered. I don't think it's very far."  
"I hope not." Lucy said. "I can't see a goddamn..." A roar echoed through the tunnel, making Lucy stop talking and sending a chill down everyones spine.  
"That's a scream I've never heard before." Jake stated. "What the hell is it?"  
"It's down here..." Anna whispered. "I think we'd best turn back."  
"I ain't gonna disagree..." replied George, shook up by the sudden outburst from the darkness. He shone the light back down the tunnel, and the light hit something far back down the tunnel. Something big. They couldn't make it out, but it seemed to notice the light. The creature howled again, and it's howl was followed by load thuds of it's feet hitting the ground as it came closer. 


	9. Deeper Underground

CHAPTER 9  
  
The gigantic creature slowly started towards them, the electric rails seemingly unharming it. "Go!" George shouted, and turned around again. He started running down the dark tunnel, the only light coming from his flashlight, and the gunshots from the others as they tried stopping the creature while running away from it.  
Jake heard a trip, then a thud. He didn't know who'd fallen over, and couldn't see. He heard the electricity pass through the body as it hit the rails, and Jake knew immediately they couldn't save them. He carried on running, then heard the creature pick the corpse up in it's teeth and start eating it whilst in pursuit. "Someone's down!" Jake shouted. "Hurry up!"  
"Found it!" George yelled back. He focused the light on a dark white, metal door, and jumped up towards it. He pulled the handle down, and the door swung inwards. He piled in, followed by the rest. Jake jumped in last, and slammed the door. They heard thuds from the wall and door from the thing outside, but soon realized it couldn't get to them. George flashed the beam around, quickly finding a switch. He flicked it, and a bright light shone down at them from the ceiling. Jake looked around, checking who was missing.  
"Paul's dead." he stated. I heard someone fall, it must've been him."  
"Shit." Henry muttered. They looked down the lightened corridor. It stretched quite far. "Where to now?" Henry asked, looking at George.  
"Follow me." George replied, and headed down the corridor. The rest followed him closely.  
They reached a wall with a metal grate halfway up it. Jake looked at Anna, and she looked back. "Looks like it's the vents again." Anna stated, smiling slightly. George stuck his fingers through the gaps, then yanked hard at it. The metal grate gave in, and tore from the wall. George threw it to one side. He placed his pistol in his holster, and hauled himself into the vent. Anna followed, then Jake, then Lucy, then Henry. They slowly crawled through the tight metal gap, making their way into the base.  
  
Dave and Kylie ran quickly through the corridors, still being undetected by the soldiers there. They'd almost run into some earlier, but only just missed them. Dave spotted a door on their left, and grabbed Kylie's arm. He opened it, and dragged them both into the room. He quietly closed the door, and they stood as still as possible. Kylie wondered what Dave was doing, then heard footsteps and muffled talking outside. They were silent as the noise drifted past them, until all they could hear was their own breath.  
"That was close." Kylie whispered to Dave, edging closer to him.  
"Yeah..." Dave replied, still listening. "I think it's all clear. Come on..." He opened the door, and a man dressed in the same camouflage gear as the other guards swung around at him. "Oh, maybe not..." he sated. The soldier looked at him and Kylie.  
"What's going on here?" he asked, aiming his rifle at them slightly.  
"We got lost." Kylie said, trying to sound convincing. "We're new here."  
"Really?" the soldier asked, almost smiling. "I don't see how, because for about 4 days now the whole of the United States has been infected with this zombie disease." Dave and Kylie looked at the man confused.  
"What?" Dave asked, not believing him. "How?"  
"I don't know, I just work here." the soldier replied. "So, if you aren't new here, who are you?"  
"Erm..." Dave thought about a believable excuse, when suddenly two guards turned the corner. They saw Dave and Kylie, and raised their guns.  
"Freeze!" shouted the first guard. Dave looked at them.  
"Shit..." he muttered. He raised his hands above his head, when suddenly the soldier in front of him and Kylie swiftly took a silenced pistol from his holster and shot the two guards in the head. They dropped to the floor, their guns rattling on the hard plastic ground. The soldier looked at them.  
"Get those weapons. You'll need them." he told them, then turned and walked back the way he came.  
"Wait!" Kylie called after him. "Who are you?" The soldier didn't reply as he walked around the corner.  
"C'mon." Dave told Kylie, looking at the two bodies down the corridor. They ran over to the weapons hesitantly, and picked them up. They looked around, then ran down the corridor next to them.  
  
Lucy was wondering how much longer they would have to crawl through the tight ventilation system of this secret underground base for. It was very uncomfortable, and hot. They'd been in there for what seemed like forever. She was busy thinking to herself, then suddenly she felt the vent buckle and fall away. She must've undone a latch or something, and she fell down the gap, screaming, and into another vent leading down. It sloped at the bottom, like a slide, so she didn't break her legs as she fell.  
Henry notice Lucy fall into the other vent and looked down it. He looked up at the others ahead. "We'll catch you up!" Henry told them, and quickly followed the reporter.  
"Henry!" Jake called, unable to turn around. "Shit!" he cursed. "We'll find them later." he said, and they carried on through the vent.  
Lucy's feet smashed into the grate at the bottom of the vent, and she slid out along the plastic floor. She heard something follow, and rolled out of the way just as Henry slid out next to her. They layed on the ground for a moment, then heard a clicking sound. "Get up." came a voice next to them. Henry looked to his side to see a lone guard aiming a gun at them. "You're under arrest for trespassing."  
"Oh, for Christ's sake." Henry muttered, casually standing up. As he did, he suddenly smashed his fist into the guard's face, knocking him out. Lucy stood up and stepped over to Henry as he took the guard's weapons.  
"Is he..." Lucy started to ask.  
"He'll be alright in a while." Henry answered, standing up with a silenced pistol, an assault rifle, and three grenades. "We'd better not be around when he does come to, though." Lucy nodded. Henry gave her the assault rifle and a grenade. "Let's find the others." he said, and walked down the bright corridor.  
"Ok." Lucy answered, following. "How?"  
"I dunno yet." Henry replied. "I'll think of something." Suddenly, an alarm siren rang out, and red lights on the wall flashed at them. Henry and Lucy looked around warily.  
"What the hell?" she asked, trying to be heard over the sirens.  
"I don't know!" Henry replied loudly. "It can't be good, whatever it is!"  
  
Dave and Kylie turned the corner as soon as a deafening siren blurted out throughout the base. Dave looked at Kylie, who looked back. "They must've found the bodies..." Dave said, gripping the gun he had.  
"Shit." Kylie muttered, looking around. "We've gotta find a way outta here fast."  
"What if that man was right, though?" Dave asked. "What if America really is overrun with those zombies like at home."  
"Then we're screwed." Kylie replied. Dave didn't say anything back, and they both ran down the corridor simultaneously. As they turned the corner, three guards spotted them and instantly fired at them with assault rifles. The bullets pounded into the wall and floor near to them, but miraculously missed them. Dave slid along the ground on his back as Kylie hid behind the wall again. He pointed his gun at the guards and fired a whole clip at them. The bullets tore through the humans with ease, and they dropped to the ground, firing aimlessly as they fell.  
Kylie peered round the corner to see the bodies, then looked at Dave. He looked back, not saying anything. "Let's get outta here." Kylie said, standing up. Dave nodded, and rose to his feet. They ran past the corpses, and Dave swiftly exchanged the empty handgun for two full ones. As they turned the next corner, they froze where they were.  
"Oh shit..." Dave murmured, staring directly ahead of them. "Maybe another way..."  
  
The sirens had been going now for a while, and George got to the end of the vent. He smashed the grate off, and crawled into the corridor. The red lights seemed to reflect off the white, shiny plastic walls, giving it a dark red colour. Anna and Jake crawled out behind him, and they all readied their weapons. They looked around.  
"Where to now?" Jake asked George.  
"I think it's on the other side of the base." George answered, trying to remember.  
"Other side?" Anna asked, not sounding too pleased. "Oh, shit. That means we've gotta get through this whole place before we can get the hell outta here."  
"C'mon. It can't be that hard." George reassured her, feeling awkward. Jake gave him a funny look.  
"Are you deaf?" Anna asked, getting angrier. "You hear that noise? You see those lights?" she pointed around them. George looked around at the red lights flashing at them. "Someone's set of an alarm, so every soldier in here will be going ape shit!"  
"Calm down, honey." Jake told her, holding her arm gently. "We'll be alright." She looked at him, then calmed herself down.  
"Alright." she said. "We'd better do this fast though, if we wanna make it out alive."  
"Ok then." George replied, looking one way down the corridor. "I think it's that way." he said, and started walking. The other two followed him. Jake walked beside Anna, and held her hand. She looked up at him, and smiled. She held his hand tighter. They heard gunfire in the distance, and screaming. It sent a chill down the three human's spines. Whatever was happening, they knew it wasn't good.  
They walked around the corner, guns ready to fire at anything hostile. At the end of the corridor, there was three civilians. George raised his weapon at them, and the civilians turned to face them. "Oh, shit." Jake said. Him and Anna also lifted their guns at the three zombies, and fired at them. The bullets punched through the zombie's corpses, and they were flung back like rag dolls.  
"Looks like this plan just got a lot harder." Anna stated when they'd finished firing.  
"What else was here?" Jake asked George, wondering if they were likely to meet anything else. "What other creatures were they keeping?"  
"I don't know." George answered. "There was rumors that the scientists here were testing the disease on all sorts of creatures. God knows how many survived."  
"We'll soon find out." Anna said. "But we'd better find the other two, then get to the airpad. Fast." George nodded.  
"Follow me then." he ordered, running towards the bodies at the end of the corridor. Jake and Anna followed, still looking out for more zombies.  
  
Lucy quickly ran around a corner, followed instantly by Henry, as the guards continued shooting at them. The bullets missed them, hitting the walls next to them. Henry reloaded his gun after using all the bullets in one clip, and ran backwards. As the guards ran into his sight, he fired again. The three guards all got hit by the wave of bullets, and fell to the ground. Henry slowed down, and stopped. Lucy copied, and walked over to him. She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, another five guards turned round the corner, firing machine guns at them.  
"Christ!" Henry shouted, the attack surprising him. He pushed Lucy sideways through a door, closing it behind him. They ran down another corridor, and fired backwards at the pursuing guards. They took out three of them, but the other two somehow avoided the shots. Henry pulled the trigger again, but realized he was out of bullets. He reached for another clip, but didn't have one. Lucy ducked around another corner, and Henry followed. Instead of running, he waited on the edge, listening for the guards. Lucy noticed, and stopped. She ran towards him as the remaining two guards ran past him. They didn't notice him at first, and Henry kicked the nearest guard in the leg, sending him flying down the corridor. The second guard turned to face him, and Henry punched him in the head twice, jumped up and spin-kicked him in the face, knocking him out.  
The first guard jumped up to his feet as the second collapsed to the floor. He raised his pistol at him, but before he could pull the trigger, Lucy fired three bullets into his back. He fell onto his front, dead. Henry took the weapons from both guards, giving Lucy one of the machine guns and a clip for her pistol. Suddenly, two more people ran round the corner. Both Henry and Lucy aimed their guns at them, and they did the same. Henry noticed that they weren't wearing army uniforms. "Who are you?" he asked them. The man looked at the woman briefly, wondering if he should answer the question or if he should shoot.  
"I'm Dave Richards." the man said. He looked at the woman again. "This is Kylie Trent." he looked back at Henry, still pointing his gun at him. "Who the hell are you?"  
"Henry Rabin, LAPD. This is Lucy Numan." Henry replied. He kept his gun raised also. "What are you doing here?"  
"We were prisoners." Kylie answered. "We've escaped."  
"Prisoners?" Lucy asked.  
"Yeah. We don't know why." Dave replied. "Hey, have you two been outside this base, you know, recently?"  
"Yeah, about two hours ago, in fact." Henry answered. "The whole city's infested with zombies. We're trying to find a way out of LA."  
"Damn." Kylie murmured. "Well, if you're wondering, the rest of America is the same now. And the zombies have escaped in here, too."  
"Shit." Lucy stated. "Do you know where the helipad to this place is?" she asked.  
"No." Dave said. "That's what we're looking for."  
"Ok, we'd better hurry before more guards arrive." Henry stated. He put his gun down, and the others reluctantly did the same. "C'mon!" he said, and ran down the corridor. The others followed him quickly.  
  
Jake, Anna and George heard more gunfire nearby. Anna looked at Jake. "Could be the other two." she hinted. Jake nodded.  
"Could be." Jake replied. "Shall we go check?"  
"We'd better." Anna stated. "Even if it's not, we'll find more survivors. Probably."  
"What if they're the guys that work here?" George asked, eager just to find the helipad. "We were trained to shoot at anyone or anything not in uniform, to avoid intruders. Now these alarms are going off, they'll shoot without question.  
"You're in uniform, maybe they'll think twice." Jake reminded him.  
"And what if they don't?" George asked.  
"Then we'll see what happens." Jake replied. "We're going to go find Henry and Lucy, like it or not."  
"Fair enough." George said reluctantly. "This time you lead." Jake stepped ahead of George, listening to the gunshots. He followed the sound down the next corridor, then through a door. As soon as he, Anna and George were through the door, three zombies turned around and started to shuffle towards them. Jake fired his pistol three times, each bullet finding a zombie's head to burst through. The bodies fell to the floor, and the humans continued walking through the base.  
In a short space of time, the three walked past a door. Jake peered through the window, and spotted a helicopter. He quickly burst through the door and saw another two. They'd found their escape vehicles at last. Anna looked at Jake. "What about the other two?" she asked, not wanting to leave them behind. Jake nodded, understanding. He looked at George.  
"Wait here for us. Save us a helicopter. If we're not back in about half an hour, get the hell outta here." he ordered. George nodded, and ran to one of the helicopters. Jake and Anna checked their guns for ammo, then walked back into the corridor. Anna looked at Jake, smiling slightly.  
"Just like old times." she joked. Jake laughed.  
"Sure is." he said. They walked down the corridor, listening to gunfire and screams for directions.  
  
"Goddammit!" Kylie shouted, all four stopping as they walked through the door. They'd found a huge room, the size of a football pitch maybe, and hundreds of guards were fighting with zombies on three floors. Above them was metal gratings for floors, allowing the blood of the fallen to easily drip through onto the ground below. The blood covered the floor thickly, and a few guards and zombies were slipping over on it, promptly getting killed by their enemies.  
Henry looked across to see a metal ladder. He looked above them to see there was less zombies on the higher levels. "There!" he shouted, running over to the ladder. The other three followed, and Henry climbed it quickly. He jumped up onto the second level, instantly taking his gun out and putting a bullet into the zombie standing over him's head. He jumped to his feet as Kylie got onto the same level as all three of them.  
Without saying anything, they ran along the narrow walkway, shooting a few zombies along the way. Above them, Lucy spotted something larger crawl along the walkway. "Above us!" she shouted, and they all looked up. Whatever was up there heard her, and looked through the grate. It roared, and scratched at the grate, trying to get to them. Henry and Dave both simultaneously fired three shots each into the creatures body, and Lucy finished it with a head shot. It stopped moving, it's thick red blood dripping onto them. They quickly moved out of the way, not wanting to get covered in it.  
Dave looked down onto the bottom floor and saw another of the large, bear-like creatures attacking a group of guards. It made short work of them, killing at least five before more guards shot at it, killing it. He looked at Henry. "There's more of those things!" he shouted. Henry turned around, and something caught his eye.  
"Kylie, down!" he ordered. Kylie dropped to the floor, revealing a lone zombie behind her. Henry fired twice at it, hitting it in the chest. The creature reeled back slightly, but carried on towards them. Dave pulled the trigger to his gun, but all that came from it was an empty click.   
"Shit!" he cursed. He dropped the gun to the ground and swung his fist at the zombie. It hit it on the side of the face, knocking it's head to one side. Kylie crawled past Dave as he hit the zombie with his other fist. As the zombie leaned over the railing, Dave swung his leg through the air and kicked the zombie in the back of it's head. The zombie flipped over the railing, and landed head-first on the hard floor below, snapping it's neck in half.  
"Hey," Lucy said to Dave, picking Kylie up. She threw him an ammo clip, which he caught. He picked up his weapon, and swiftly reloaded it. He nodded, and they carried on along the walkway. Suddenly, one of the bear-like creatures dropped down in front of them and snarled. The four jumped back, the two women screaming. The creature looked ready to pounce, when suddenly it's back and skull erupted with blood and skin. It dropped down, dead, and the others looked up onto the next floor.  
Jake and Anna were leaning over the railings, looking down at them. "Found ya." Jake said to Henry and Lucy. Henry smiled.  
"Just in time to join the party." he stated. "Where's George?"  
"He's at the helicopter. He's waiting for us." Anna explained. She looked at her watch. "But we've got about 18 minutes before he flies that thing away without us."  
"We'd better hurry." Lucy stated. She looked around and saw a ladder at the far end of the hall. "Over there." she pointed out, and they ran towards it. Jake and Anna followed them, when suddenly a zombie which was playing dead grabbed at Anna's feet. She jumped, falling over the railing beside her. Jake shot the zombie in the head as Anna grabbed the metal bar, and he grabbed her arms.  
"I got ya." he reassured her. She looked below her, the other four stopping just below her.  
"We can catch ya. Just drop down here." Henry said. Jake nodded to Anna, and Anna lowered herself down. The four below grabbed her legs, and she let go of the railing. She didn't fall far, and the others helped her land on her feet.  
"I'm ok!" she called up to Jake. He smiled and nodded.  
"Good. C'mon, run!" he replied. The five below him ran towards the ladder.  
Below them, on the ground floor, a group of zombies grabbed onto a guard. He flailed wildly, firing his machine-gun everywhere while the zombies starting feasting on him. The shots ricochetted off the railings above, and the others ducked down, avoiding the gunfire. A stray bullet made it through the gaps in the railings, and hit Jake in the side of the neck. He spun in the air as he fell to the metallic floor.  
Anna looked up as she heard something fall, and saw Jake laying on the ground. "Jake!" she shouted, and ran even faster towards the ladder. The others looked up at the body, and quickly followed Anna to the ladder. She eventually reached it after what seemed like ages, and scrabbled up it, missing the rungs at least twice. She crawled up onto the third floor, running towards him before standing up properly. She made it to him just as the others reached the top of the ladder. She slid along the ground on her knees, the metal gaps grating them. She rolled Jake over, seeing the bullet hole in his neck. Blood gushed from it, and Jake wasn't moving.  
Anna couldn't think at all as Jake layed on the ground, blood covering his neck, the metal underneath him and her hands. She pushed her hands against the wound to stop the bleeding, but it had already slowed down and was hardly noticeable. Henry reached them first, and he knelt down beside her. "We gotta help him!" Anna shouted frantically. Henry closed his eyes and looked behind them. The other three had reached them now, and were watching. He pulled Anna's arm back.  
"He's dead." he stated gently. Anna shook her head, pushing her hand back onto his neck.  
"No... No he's not!" she tried to explain. "They said he was gone before, but he came back... He's gonna be ok."  
"He was dead before we could do anything." Henry continued to explain. "C'mon, we've gotta go." Anna broke down crying, and eventually let go of the body. The other three started towards the door, and Henry helped Anna stand up. "Come on." he said quietly. Anna continued crying as they jogged away from Jake's corpse.  
  
The group of humans ran down a corridor, looking around. "It's just through there." Anna stated, still in tears, but slightly calmed down. They ran through a door and saw a few helicopters.  
"Hey!" came a loud voice. Henry looked over to one of the helicopters and saw George standing next to one. They all ran over to him as he jumped inside and started it up. He looked above them and turned around to the others who'd just got in. "Ok, firstly, who are they?" he asked, looking at Dave and Kylie.  
"We found them." Lucy answered. "They're survivors like us." George nodded.  
"Ok. Secondly, where's Jake?" he asked. There was a long silence. "Oh." George said, realizing he must be dead. "Oh, shit." Anna nodded. "And thirdly, see that office thing over there?" he asked, pointing. They all nodded. "I need someone to go open the hatch above us. There should be a button in there."  
"Ok, I'll go." Henry replied, jumping out of the helicopter. He ran over to the smallish room and looked at the control desk. There was lots of switches and buttons, and he looked through them. He eventually found the right one, and pressed it. A loud, mechanical whir echoed through the helicopter bay, and the roof above them started to open. Henry ran back to the helicopter as rain fell into the room from the small storm outside. He jumped back into the helicopter, closing the door. "Go!" he shouted. George started up the helicopter again, and lifted it off the ground, and through the open roof. 


	10. No Escape

  
CHAPTER 10  
  
"So, where are we going?" Kylie asked George, leaning over the seat in front of her. "America's covered in those things." George shrugged.   
"I dunno. However far we get in this thing, I guess." he replied.  
"How far's that?" Dave asked.  
"I dunno." George answered. They heard something nearby. Something making a low thundering sound.  
"What's that?" Lucy asked.  
"I dunno." George replied, looking out of his window. Suddenly, an F-16 jet flew past them, really close.  
"Woah, Jesus!" Henry muttered, the jet shaking the helicopter slightly. "What the hell?" he asked as it turned in the air to face them. It hovered where it was for a moment. Suddenly, it fired it's chaingun at the helicopter, the bullets punching through the hull. George swung the helicopter to it's side, avoiding further attack, and the F-16 flew past them and started to turn round to face them again.  
"Damn!" George murmured as he noticed the fuel gage dropping fairly quickly. It was night, and the smallish flames protruding from the chopper seemed brighter in the sky. George looked frantically at buttons as the F-16 was almost facing them, then he suddenly punched his finger down on one.  
One of the helicopters missiles suddenly rocketed towards the jet, slamming into it, and lighting up the night sky in a huge ball of flame. It fell towards the ground, and hit a large river nobody had noticed. The wreckage sunk under the surface, putting out the blaze.  
George looked around the helicopter, knowing he couldn't keep it from crashing much longer. "Ok, here's what we'll have to do!" he called above the loud noise of fire and engine. "I'll put this as low as I can to this river, and you jump out and swim to shore."  
"What about you?" Anna asked, realizing he couldn't do that and pilot the helicopter.  
"I'm gonna fly this as far as possible. If I reach land, I'll land this thing and run. I'll meet you soon if that's the case." George replied.  
"And what's the other case?" Henry asked.  
"I crash this thing and die." George answered bluntly. "Go, now!" he yelled, bringing the helicopter as low to the water as possible. Dave yanked the door open and felt the wind blow against him. He jumped out, followed by Kylie, Lucy and Henry. Anna looked at George, then the water rushing by below.  
"Good luck!" she shouted over the noise, and jumped from the helicopter. George pulled the aircraft up, narrowly missing the rock formation jutting out from the surface. He flew the craft sideways, over dry land, and looked frantically for a place to land. He spotted a flat area and quickly landed on it. Without shutting the engine down, he jumped out of the craft and ran from it. It suddenly exploded into a massive ball of fire, hurling him forwards and over a rock. He rolled up close to the rock as cover from flying debris.  
  
Dave dragged his cold, drenched body onto the river bank. He rolled onto his back, breathing hard and shaking. He could see his breath as it reacted with the freezing night air. He quickly rolled back over and kneeled over the river as Kylie swam over to him. He could hear her breathing and the chattering of her teeth. He reached down and grabbed her arm, helping her onto dry land. Kylie rolled onto her back, unable to move. She was freezing. Dave helped Lucy onto shore as soon as Kylie rolled over. Dave looked around the river. Henry and Anna were missing.  
Henry floated on the surface of the river. It was fairly dark. He could hear splashing nearby. "Anna?" he called, noticing the other three on the shore nearby. "That you?"  
"Yeah," came a voice. "Where are you?" she called.  
"Over here." Henry replied. Anna started towards the voice. "The others are on the..."   
Suddenly, a large explosion down the river lit up the night, making a deafening bang. Anna was able to see Henry now. "I see you!" she called, swimming towards him. Henry noticed Anna, but also something, or somethings, sliding into the river on the other side.  
"I see something else too..." he stated. Anna reached him. "Something's in here with us, we gotta swim fast!" he claimed, and they both swam as fast as their exhausted bodies would allow them.  
Dave noticed both humans as the explosion briefly turned night into day, and also three crocodile shaped creatures slide into the river on the other bank. "Hurry up!" he called. "Those things are coming!" Henry and Anna reached the bank, and Dave pulled Anna out of the water first. She rolled along the ground, quickly standing up and running back to Dave. She noticed the crocodiles closing in on Henry fast. So did the others, including Henry.  
"Shit!" Henry yelled. "Get me outta here!" he added. Lucy ran over to the bank and pulled out her gun. She pointed it at the creature as a worn out Dave and a fairly worn out Anna grabbed both of Henry's arms. She fired at the thing in the water, the shots lighting the place up so they could get a better look at the things. Henry was pulled up on shore as the first creature crashed into the bank. He ran over to Lucy and grabbed her.  
"This way!" Anna called, and ran along a dirt path. The others followed her, Henry and Lucy last. As the final two reached the path, they heard a large splash behind them. Both Henry and Lucy looked behind them to see one of the crocodiles walking after them. They could see it clearer now, noticing it was definitely infected with the disease.  
"Run!" Henry yelled, dragging Lucy with him. The crocodile gave chase as fast as it's clunky body would allow. The other humans ran as fast as they could along the path, thankful of no more creatures along the way.  
  
George walked into the middle of the road. He'd found another deserted town, only this time he was alone. The street lamps were on, something he thought was slightly strange. The power must still be on. He gripped his pistol tightly, incase he noticed anything that could be a threat. He walked along the road, looking at the few cars on the road. If something happened, he could just take one and get out of there.  
He checked his ammo. Two more clips after this one in his beretta, two for his assault rifle, and the first one was half empty. "Gonna have to use this wisely..." he muttered. Suddenly he spotted someone duck into an alleyway nearby. Without thinking, he fired a shot at the figure, hitting the wall. He ran to the alleyway, pointing his gun down it. Nobody was there.  
"Who's there?" he called. No answer. "I'm here to help." George called. Slowly, someone walked out from behind a trash can. George trained his gun on the person. "Who are you?" he asked.  
"My name's Rachel. Rachel Hall." the woman replied. George looked at her. She looked about 20 or 25. Long brown hair. Her clothes were a mess, but she was human. She looked scared slightly.  
"You alone here, Rachel?" he asked, wondering if there were any more survivors. Rachel nodded. "Where are they?" George asked, eager to find more help.  
"A few roads away. I'm now on my way there. A group of us are hiding in a secure house." Rachel explained.  
"You got a gun on you?" George asked her, changing the subject slightly. He was in a rush. Rachel pulled out a magnum. "Where'd you find that?" he asked, amazed.  
"Some guy back at the house gave it to me for this trip. But it's out of bullets." Rachel replied. George took out the two beretta clips and handed Rachel his gun. He passed her the clips.  
"This is loaded. Take it you know how it works." George stated. He took his assault rifle from over his shoulder. "Right. Lead the way."  
  
Anna pushed through a bush into an open area. In the center was the flaming wreckage of the helicopter they'd been riding in minutes before. The other humans followed her. Henry looked back through the bush. "I think we lost it." he stated. Anna walked towards the wreckage.  
"George!" she shouted, hoping he'd made it out of the helicopter before it exploded. Dave and Henry looked through the wreckage as best they could.  
"Can't find him." Dave stated. "Maybe he got out in time." Henry kicked over a large sheet of metal with his boot, knowing the metal was too hot to touch. Still nothing.  
"Maybe." Henry replied. "But where'd he go?"  
"I think I know." Lucy answered. "Look." The others ran over to her and saw she was pointing down at some footprints in the mud.  
"How are we gonna follow them round the corner?" Kylie asked. "There's not enough light." Anna turned around and looked at the wreckage. She walked over to a bush and yanked a large, long section out. She stuck the end in the fire, creating a torch.  
"This should do." Anna stated, walking back to the others. "As long as the wind doesn't pick up." She walked past the others and started following the footprints. The others swiftly followed, looking back at the burning wreckage briefly.  
  
Rachel walked up to the last house on the right side of the road. She knocked on the door twice, and waved at George to make him run over to her as well. "It's me." Rachel said through the door. "I've found a survivor." There was silence, then the sound of locks unlocking and chains being taken off. The door opened, and Rachel and George walked in the house.  
The door shut behind them, and George felt someone push him against the wall. Two people. He didn't have time to react before he was unable to move. The lights of the hallway came on. "Jesus Christ!" George shouted. "What the hell?"  
"Let him go!" Rachel ordered.  
"He's one of them!" replied an angry sounding man, about the same age as Rachel.  
"One of who?" George shouted at him. "I'm not a damn zombie! Listen! You hear me talking?" he tried to convince them.  
"Shut up!" the man replied. "What are you doing here?"  
"I've come to help. But I can't do that if you keep me held up against the damn wall!" George answered.  
"Bullshit. You're one of them. Where's your team?" the man questioned.  
"Who the hell are you talking about? I'm not a zombie!" George repeated, dreading following the girl here.  
"No shit you're not." the man replied. "You're with the army." George stopped struggling slightly and rolled his eyes back.  
"Used to be." he said. "I quit right about the time they tried killing me and my team."  
"What the fuck are you talking about?" the man asked, not sure if he should believe the uniformed soldier.  
"You heard. The military took out most of my team and kidnapped some people because of this whole zombie scenario." George explained. "Now get off me so I can give you the full story!" With that, the two men unhanded him, and George spun around to face them. The man he'd been talking to looked about 25, with short black hair. The other was fairly fat, 23 years old maybe. There were two more people, one girl and one man, about the same age. They all looked like they'd been wearing the same clothes for days on end.  
"Ok. What's your story?" the man asked.  
"Got anywhere to sit?" George wanted to know. "This is gonna take a while."  
  
Anna stopped as soon as the footprints disappeared. They'd reached a sidewalk. A town. The others noticed the lack of footprints. "Ok, now what?" Dave asked, looking at the town in case he caught a glimpse of movement.  
"I don't know I doubt it would be wise to shout though." Anna replied.  
"Why?" Kylie asked.  
"Because we've also got the whole of the military on our tail as well." Henry answered bluntly. "We don't want to make ourselves obvious to find."  
"Guess not." Kylie said. Something caught her eye. "Hey, over there..." she stated. Everyone else noticed the person run round the corner. Anna quickly ran towards the next road, followed by the others. She turned it to see someone walking along the sidewalk.  
"Hey!" Anna called quietly as to not bring unwanted attention. The person turned around. He was a man, about 20. He looked like a homeless guy. Only with a gun. He aimed it at them. "Woah, hold your fire!" Anna shouted as the others ducked back around the corner. The man hesitated, then lowered his gun.  
"Who are you?" he asked her. Suddenly, without warning, a large snake-like creature smashed it's head out of a nearby drain and gripped the man between it's teeth. The man screamed as the others aimed their guns at the creature, but it disappeared again before they got a clean shot. There was a deathly silence surrounding the humans. Nobody dared to move.  
"What the fuck?" Dave whispered, still staring at the drain.  
"This is not good." Anna stated the obvious.  
"Now what?" Lucy asked, unable to move, just like the others.  
"We'd best find George and get outta here." Anna said.  
"What if that thing got him?" Kylie asked, wanting to leave the town fast.  
"We don't know that yet." Henry stated. "We've gotta find him. We can't just leave him here."  
"Why not?" Dave questioned. "Not wanting to be a bastard or anything, but if he is dead, we could waste our lives finding that out. You saw how fast that thing was, didn't you?"  
"He's the only one except me who can fly us outta here when we get another aircraft." Anna answered. "I don't wanna be the only one, in case I wind up dead. And we don't leave our people behind." Anna turned back to the road. "Keep away from the drains. We'll get to that alleyway, then use the rooftops." she ordered. "On my mark, run like hell."  
"Oh dear..." Lucy murmured, and they all got ready to run.  
"Now!" Anna said, sprinting towards the alley at the end of the road. The others copied, and they could hear the rumbling of the creature beneath the road.  
It suddenly burst through another drain, swinging it's head at the sound of the running. Before noticing were it's targets were, it hit Lucy with the side of it's head. She screamed slightly as she was knocked through the air and against a parked car, denting the door slightly. The others noticed, and fired at the creature. It didn't have time to go after Lucy, and hid below the surface.  
Henry ran over to Lucy and picked her up. They could hear the rumbling below them. "Come on!" Anna yelled, continuing towards the alley. They all followed her, hearing the rumbling. Anna reached the alley and noticed a ladder leading up to the roof of the tall apartment next to it. "There!" she shouted, jumping up and grabbing it. She climbed quickly as Kylie grabbed the ladder behind her. Dave waited a short moment as Kylie made her way up, then grabbed the rung in front of him. He looked back at Henry and Lucy, who had just made it to the alley.  
The snake burst out of the drain behind them, roaring as it rose into the air. It lunged for the two humans, but Henry dived to the side, pushing Lucy with him. The snake's face crashed into the ground, and rose up again. Dave fired again at the creature, and it backed up into the road. Henry jumped up with Lucy, and they ran to the ladder. Dave was now half way up the building when Lucy grabbed the ladder and started climbing.  
The snake roared again, and lunged at the two humans. Henry jumped sideways, and the snake wasn't at the right level to even touch Lucy. But it was close. "Henry!" she yelled, not seeing him jump out of the way.  
Anna helped Kylie over the edge of the building, and remembered something. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a grenade. It had totally slipped her mind. She leant over the edge of the building and looked down. Dave was almost at the top of the ladder, and Lucy was near the bottom. Anna also saw Henry standing up, and the snake creature starting to back up into the road for a better shot at him.  
"Hey!" she yelled at Henry. He looked up and saw her. "Catch!" she ordered, and dropped the grenade down to him. It landed in the center of the alley. And the snake was now in a good position to strike. He looked at the snake, then the grenade. He looked back at the snake, not moving. Waiting for the snake to strike, allowing him to dodge it and grab the grenade. He held his breath, waiting for the right moment.  
The snake didn't strike. The seconds seemed like minutes, everyone was quiet. A thought popped into Henry's head.  
It can't see me if I don't move...  
He wasn't sure if this was good or not. He knew he couldn't stand still for long. But if he was wrong, he could misjudge it and wind up dead. Something moved in the corner. Henry didn't move but could see out of the corner of his eye Lucy fall off the ladder and onto the ground. The snake obviously noticed, as it roared again. Lucy screamed.  
"Shit!" Henry muttered as the snake leaned it's head back slightly, ready to lunge. He rolled into the center of the alley, picking up the grenade and standing next to Lucy, picking her up too. He jumped backwards with her as the snake smashed into the ladder, shattering the metal like it was glass.  
Henry hit the ground on his back, Lucy landing on her side next to him. He pulled the pin out of the grenade as the snake pulled back. He hurled it into it's opened mouth and helped Lucy up again. "Run!" he yelled as the snake got back into the road. Henry and Lucy ran past a large dumpster and ducked behind it.  
Anna, Kylie and Dave watched the show below, and saw the grenade being thrown into the snake's mouth. "I think we'd better duck." Dave stated. Anna looked away from the snake and at him.  
"Don't you wanna watch?" she asked. "Don't worry, we're safe up here. The blast isn't that big." Dave looked at Kylie, and she looked at him. The both ducked behind the raised edge of the building. Anna looked at them, shrugged, and looked down at the snake. Suddenly, it's skull exploded, sending fragments of bone and flesh up into the air. Before she could move, a large chunk of the snake's flesh hit her in the chest, knocking her onto her back. Dave and Kylie kept low until it had stopped raining snake chunks, and looked over at Anna. She was covered in the snake's blood.  
"Told you to duck." Dave stated.  
  
"What was that?" Rachel asked, peering through a slot in a bordered up window.  
"Sounded like an explosion." the black haired man, Alex, answered.  
"That's gotta be the others..." George stated, standing up. "We've gotta go help them."  
"We're not leaving until Jerry gets back!" Alex ordered, almost shouting.  
"Fine, I'll go myself." George argued, heading for the door. Alex grabbed his arm. George spun around, ready for a confrontation.  
"Me and Bert will go too." he said. The fat man looked up.  
"Great." he muttered.  
"I'm coming too." Rachel stated. Alex turned to face her.  
"No you're not. You're staying here." he ordered, softly this time.  
"She can go instead of me," Bert insisted. "I mean, if we gotta run, I'm not gonna be a help." he joked.  
"Guess so. Give her your gun." Alex said. Rachel took her beretta out of her belt.  
"I got one." she stated. "Let's find these people and get back."  
"That'd be wise." George replied. "There's worse things out there than zombies."  
"Like what?" Alex asked, not having come across anything but zombies. Suddenly, a load roar echoed through the quiet night.  
"Like that." George answered.  
  
Henry and Lucy finally reached the top of the building by pushing the dumpster under the broken ladder. Anna had wiped off most of the blood. "Everyone ok?" she asked. Everyone nodded. "Good. We should be safe up here."  
"About time we were safe somewhere." Kylie stated. As soon as she said that, a nearby roar sent yet another shiver down everyone's spine.  
"That's just great. That's real funny." Lucy said sarcastically.  
"Sounded like it came from ground level." Henry stated. "If we stay up here, we should be fine." Suddenly, on the far side of the building, the creature that had been chasing them around earlier, the one that also killed Michelle, hauled itself up onto the roof. It stood up and looked at the five humans. None of them moved.  
"Holy fucking shit..." Dave whispered. "This is you're idea of safe?" Anna backed up and looked down into the alley. Looking straight back up was...  
"Another one..." she stated. "There's another down there." Henry looked down and saw it.  
"Shit!" he cursed. The creature on the roof started towards them. "We're screwed."  



	11. Not a Hope in Hell

CHAPTER 11  
  
Anna looked around the rooftop for a way to escape the creature walking towards them. There was a gap between the edge of the roof and the creature, but it was unlikely they could all make it. "I'll distract it." she stated to the others. "You run along the far side, jump to the next building, keep running." They looked at her.  
"Are you outta your mind?" Henry asked. "That thing'll kill you!"  
"If we stand here arguing, it'll kill all of us!" Anna retaliated. "Go!" She ran to the other side of the building, waving frantically at the creature.  
"Shit!" Henry cursed. "Let's go!" They ran towards the gap. The creature turned to face them, and started over to them. Anna aimed her gun and fired several times at the creature.  
"Over here!" she yelled. "Over here, ya bastard!" The creature felt the bullets hit it, and stopped. It looked at Anna, allowing the others time to run passed. Anna fired again. "Come and get some, mother fucker!" she yelled insanely. She fired a couple more times, and the creature started moving towards her. She noticed the others stop to see if she was still ok. "Go!" she ordered. Hesitantly, they ran along the rooftop, towards the edge of the building.  
The creature took another step towards Anna, when suddenly the ground beneath it buckled. The thing looked down at it's feet just in time to see the roof collapse under it's wait, plummeting it through all the floors below before landing with a loud thud on the ground floor.  
Anna watched this happen, laugh to herself, and run after the other people on the roof. They'd made it to the end of the building when they heard the noise and saw Anna run towards them. "Someone up there obviously likes you!" Lucy called, laughing at Anna's luck.  
"Must do." Anna replied, reaching the group. "Can't imagine why."  
  
George, Rachel and Alex carefully turned the next corner, aiming their weapons at anything that was likely to try and kill them. But they could save their ammunition this time, as there was an empty street in front of them. "The explosion must have been around here somewhere." George stated, looking around. "Maybe in the next couple of streets."  
"Hey, listen..." Rachel said. The other two looked at her, silent.  
"What are we listening to?" Alex asked her, hearing not a whole hell of a lot. Suddenly, all three could hear the blade rotations of a helicopter flying nearby.  
"Shit." George cursed. "We better hide until it passes." As soon as he turned around, the army chopper flew over a building and into view. Without hesitation, it fired it's machine gun at them, tearing up the concrete walls and sidewalk. All three humans ran as fast as they could, the bullets missing them by small amounts. A large truck was parked nearby, and they all ducked down behind it, gripping their weapons tightly. The chopper flew over them, and past the building. George looked at the door to the apartment, and swiftly shot at the lock. The door swung open as the lock was blown apart. "Get in there!" George ordered, hearing the chopper turning in the air to have another attempt.  
"But..." Rachel started to argue.  
"Go! Now!" George shouted. "I'll meet you in there!" Alex grabbed Rachel's arm slightly, and they ran into the now open building. George lightly squeezed on the trigger to his assault rifle, being careful not to fire.  
The chopper hovered overhead, and George jumped out from behind the truck so he was under the chopper. There he couldn't be shot at unless the crew noticed him and fired manually. He aimed up at the chopper to where he was taught the engine area was. Aiming as best he could in the short time, he held down the trigger, sending up a hail of bullets into the bottom of the chopper. They tore through the metal, and flames became visible through the holes. The chopper sent out a high pitched noise as it started to edge towards the ground.  
George realized the chopper was about to crash, and stopped firing. He quickly started back to the building and threw himself threw the door as the chopper ploughed into the building opposite, sending debris all over the road. A sharp, large sheet of metal imbedded itself in the floor right next to George's leg, and he swiftly rolled behind a wall until the explosion was over.  
Rachel and Alex ran through from the next room once the explosion was over, and over to George. "You ok?" Alex asked him, noticing him laying on the ground.  
"Yeah." George answered. He laughed slightly. "That's the second helicopter I've destroyed in about an hour. It's gotta be a record." He pushed his arms against the floor, pushing himself up. He groaned slightly as he did so, holding his side.  
"You ok?" Rachel asked, noticing George was in some pain. He nodded.  
"Just landed on it badly. That's all." George replied. He looked around the room. "Anything interesting around here?" he asked, looking at the two civilians.  
"Not really. Bunch of paperwork, stuff like that." Alex replied. George walked over to a nearby desk and opened the drawer. He searched through it. "What are you looking for?" Alex asked him as George threw pieces of paper out of the drawer.  
"Aspirins." George replied. He slammed the drawer shut. "Shit..." he murmured, looking over the desk. He noticed an opened pack of cigarettes, and decided they'd do instead. He took one out and put the rest in his pocket. "Anyone got a light?" he asked. They both shook their heads.  
"Those things'll kill you." Rachel told him. George laughed slightly at the irony, then walked out into the street. The other two followed. George noticed the wreckage was still on fire, and decided to us that.  
"Hang on a sec.." he said, walking over to the burning metallic wreck of the helicopter. He put the end of the cigarette in the fire just as the other end exploded outwards. He jumped back, but then realized it wasn't an explosion.  
"Oh, shit!" Rachel shouted. "I told you! What did I tell you?" George ran back to them as the massive creature that had haunted him before turned to face them.  
"Run!" he ordered, sprinting past them. The other two swiftly followed as the creature started to lumber towards them.  
  
An explosion lit up the street about four buildings away. The sudden noise in the quiet night surprised all the humans on the rooftops, and they all looked over to where it was coming from. "I can't hear the helicopter anymore." Henry stated.   
"Maybe it's George." Anna added. "We'd better go check."  
"How? The only way to do that is to go by road. We can't reach the buildings over the road." Kylie explained. Anna looked down the building they were on. No creatures.  
"It's safe." she stated, then started towards the roof exit. The others started to follow. "We'll have to be quick." Anna told them, opening the door. As she did, a zombie turned around and grabbed her shoulders. Anna screamed, and pushed the thing down the stairs. It landed at the bottom, then began to stand up. Anna aimed down at it and fired a round into it's skull, and it hit the floor for good. Without saying anything, she walked down the stairs, ready for anything else that might be in the building.  
They reached the top floor of the two story building, turned on the lights and quickly spotted a couple of zombies. Both Anna and Henry fired at them instantly, and they disappeared behind office desks. They all made their way towards the next layer of stairs, looking in all directions to avoid a surprise attack. Another zombie walked out behind the group, and Lucy spotted it just before it grabbed Kylie, and fired two shots at it's face, sending it flying onto it's back.  
Out of nowhere, the windows on the far side of the building to the humans imploded, sending fragments of glass into the building, followed by three Marines, firing assault rifles aimlessly towards the five humans. They all ran towards the stairs, not wasting ammo on shooting back, in case they were hit by one of the Marines' bullets.  
Anna smashed her shoulder into the door to the stairs, and it flung open, almost sending her down the stairs. She grabbed the door handle, and stood to the side, letting the others through first. Dave and Kylie ran past first, followed by Lucy, then Henry. Bullets punched into the wall directly behind them, sending plaster over the carpet. Anna slammed the door shut, and started jogging backwards down the stairs, aiming her gun up at the door incase anybody appeared.  
Kylie burst through the door to the second floor, instantly slamming her fist into the light switch. There was a group of eight zombies on the far side of the room, and Kylie aimed towards them. Dave pushed her forward.  
"Leave them to the army guys!" he ordered. Kylie nodded, and ran towards the stairs. She reached the door as Anna got to the bottom of the stairs, and she kicked the door, swinging it open. The door stopped half way, and Kylie heard someone fall down the stairs. She looked to the bottom of the stairs and saw a man in a Marine uniform picking himself up, seemingly dazed. She quickly fired at the man, missing him by centimeters. He dived into the ground floor as Kylie and Dave ran down the stairs after him.  
Anna reached the stairs as the zombies almost reached her, when suddenly the three Marines ran into the room, straight into the zombies. The Marines quickly tried firing at the creatures, but weren't quick enough to aim at their heads, and the zombies all grabbed hold of them, and started ripping them apart with their teeth. Anna heard the men screaming as the zombies began to eat them alive, then ran down the last flight of stairs.  
Kylie ran through the doors at the ground floor to the building, and searched the immediate area quickly. Suddenly, she felt something grab her shoulders. She screamed and pushed away, thinking it was a zombie, but the grip was too strong for her to free herself.   
Dave walked through the door and spotted Kylie being held by a Marine as a human shield. The Marine had a gun pointed at Kylie's head, which Dave didn't notice until he had aimed his gun straight at the two humans. The others ran into the room and instantly aimed at the Marine. "Let her go!" Dave ordered, not taking his sight off the Marine and his hostage. Kylie looked at Dave, worried.  
"Not bloody likely." the Marine replied, backing away in the direction of the door. "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on in this place."  
"You're a Marine, they all were briefed about the situation before they arrived." Anna explained, remembering George's story.  
"I had to take this uniform from one of them to avoid being killed." the man replied. "Who are you?" he added.  
"We're trying to get out of here." Henry answered. "Now, if you're not a Marine, we'll help. But first you have to let her go." he explained. The man hesitated, then let go of his grip on Kylie. She ran towards the others and turned to face him.  
"Who are you?" Lucy asked the man.  
"I'm Trevor Campbell." Trevor replied. "I was on holiday here when this whole situation occurred."  
"You're British, right?" Anna asked. Trevor nodded.  
"My accent's a giveaway, isn't it?" he questioned. "Anyway, hadn't we better get out of here, before more Marines show up?"  
"He's right." Dave stated. Trevor nodded slightly, then walked out of the building through the entrance. As soon as he took a few steps onto the sidewalk, somebody ran into him, knocking both of them on their feet. Trevor rolled along the sidewalk as the others ran out of the building. The man who'd run into him had already jumped up and was pointing his assault rifle at him, and two other humans were behind him, ready to fire.  
"Don't shoot!" Anna ordered. The man looked over to her, and the other humans recognized him.  
"Hey everyone." George said. "Miss me?"  
"We thought you were toast." Henry stated, walking over to him. "You ok?"  
"Yup. Found some more survivors. This is Rachel, and Alex." George explained, pointing at his new group.  
"Hello." Rachel said. "There's more of us a few blocks away."  
"Let's go find them then." Anna stated. Suddenly, the corner of the building down the street exploded out across the road in a cloud of brick and rubble. A Giant, one of the creatures that had been chasing George, Rachel and Alex emerged onto the sidewalk, and made it's way towards them.  
"Shit!" Trevor shouted. "What the hell is that?"  
"We don't know yet." Lucy explained. "But we don't really want to know, so can we just leave fast?" The others nodded, and ran in the opposite direction of the slow, giant thing.  
  
"You do know where we're going, right?" Anna asked, looking around the deserted street.  
"Course I know. I live her, for Christ's sake." Alex answered. Henry looked behind them quickly.  
"I think we lost it." he stated. "But we'd be better off grabbing the others and getting the hell outta here."  
"That's the plan." Rachel replied. They turned the corner to the next street. "It's just down here." The group picked up speed towards their destination, when several gunshots rang out into the night. They all gripped their weapons tightly and ran to the house, reaching it quickly. Suddenly, the door burst open, and something landed with a wet, slap sound on the sidewalk beside them.  
"Holy shit!" Trevor exclaimed, looking down at the top half of a man, who still had a tight hold on his shotgun. His innards were splattered out across the road, and his blood was draining thickly into the guttering next to the kerb.  
A roar echoed out from the building, and the humans saw one of the Giants heading down the hallway towards them. Alex noticed the fire extinguisher near the entrance, and yanked the shotgun from his dead friend's hands. He spun around and aimed into the building, waiting for the right moment. Anna realized what he was about to do.  
"Fire in the hole!" she yelled, diving out of the way. The others didn't question her, and did the same. As soon as they did, the Giant was standing next to the extinguisher, and Alex fired off two shots. The shells punched into the extinguisher, igniting it and sending a fireball out the entrance, and knocking Alex onto his back, also spraying rubble onto the sidewalk.  
Lucy looked to her side and saw the Giant's large, bloodied, ugly head looking at her. She screamed, jumping backwards. Henry walked over to her and helped her up, and Alex looked at his arm. A shard of metal, about the size of a dollar bill, was stuck into his arm. He groaned in pain as he placed his hand on it, then realized it was burning hot, causing himself to cry out. George and Rachel ran over to him.  
"Jesus." Rachel muttered. George looked inside the building.  
"In there, now!" he ordered, helping Rachel to help Alex stand up. The others ran inside, ready to fire in case any more monsters turned up. Alex walked into the kitchen and sat next to the table, resting his arm on it with the metal sticking up. He gripped the top of the chair next to him tightly, trying to stop the pain from registering as much. George grabbed a few cloths and wrapped them around the metal to avoid burning himself.  
"Is this gonna hurt?" Alex asked, knowing it would, but just making sure.  
"Yup." George replied, then instantly yanked it out. Alex shouted out, and Rachel and Anna wrapped more cloths around the large wound. His blood soaked through quickly as they tightened the bandage around the cut, stopping more from coming out. Henry, Lucy, Dave and Kylie started searching the house for any survivors.  
  
The night rain fell down fast and hard, making it hard for the humans that were tired to sleep. Lightning briefly lit up the sky now and then, and thunder roared loudly shortly after each strike. Henry and Lucy sat in the living room while the others slept in the rooms with beds in upstairs. They had decided to take it in turns to sleep, and they had about two hours until Anna and George had to wake up and take over watching out.  
"God I wish the TV still worked." Henry muttered, yawning at the same time.  
"What about those?" Lucy asked, pointing at a pile of video cassettes next to the television. Henry got up off the couch and looked through them. He picked one up.  
"Die Hard?" he asked, showing her the video case.  
"That'll do." Lucy replied. Henry turned on the video machine and the television, and pushed the cassette in. He pressed the play button and sat back on the couch. Lucy layed her head on his shoulder and looked at the screen.  
  
As Jake ran through the woodland, he turned around and fired his assault rifle at the pursuing zombies. There was a whole army of them, and every time one died, it seemed to be replaced with another. Anna turned around also to help, pulling a grenade from her belt. She pulled out the pin and lobbed it into the mass of the undead. It took a few seconds to detonate, then suddenly blood and limbs exploded into the air and showered down on the army of zombies.  
Kylie ran ahead, but tripped on a hidden branch and tumbled down a muddy bank, out of site. "Kylie!" Dave called, but it was too late to tell what had happened to her. Dave looked behind him to see the other five battling for their lives. He looked down the slope, then noticed something in the corner of his eye.  
It was the same size as a zombie almost, it's back was more arched. It's hands were giant, serrated spikes, and it's jaw was full of small, pointy teeth. It moved with incredible speed, and rammed one of it's spikes through Dave's chest. He screamed, and shoved the barrel of his gun directly in the creature's gaping mouth, and pulled the trigger. It fell to the ground, but Dave fell backwards, down the slope Kylie hell down moments before.  
Anna noticed Dave fall. "Shit." she murmured. "We gotta get outta here! We've lost Dave and Kylie already!"  
"How many of these buggers are there?" Trevor shouted above the gunfire, noticing more zombies coming from the side.  
"Go!" Anna yelled, and Trevor nodded, running into the forest, disappearing from sight. Anna turned to Jake, who was still firing at the creatures. "We've gotta go! Now!" she ordered, grabbing his arm. Jake spun his head around, but what Anna saw made her heart stop beating.  
His face was mutated into a grotesque image of death. His eyes had shrunk to small, purple, marble-like balls. His skin was a different shade of flesh, more gray than it should be. His teeth now pointed out slightly, and they were sharp and menacing, as was the hideous grin he was wearing.  
Anna didn't have time to react as Jake grabbed her and kissed her. Only he sunk his teeth into her gums, biting hard. Anna tried screaming, but was muffled by Jake's snake-like tongue which was being forced down her throat, making her choke.  
  
Anna sat up quickly as another lightning bolt hit the ground nearby. She was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. She looked around, she was alone in the room. She looked at the digital clock. She remembered she had to take over watching the house in almost one hour. She sighed, and fell back on her pillow, closing her eyes. Anna layed there for a while, then started to cry slightly. She didn't know why, but she couldn't stop it.  
  
He opened his eyes slowly, everything was blurry. He couldn't make out what was happening. He couldn't even remember anything straight away, then his memories came back to him. Jake looked around, noticing he was trapped in a glass container. He could see through it, and noticed more containers with people in. They, like him, were all wired up to various machines. One looked like a heart machine, but if it was, it must be faulty. Everyone's heart had stopped, even his.  
Jake moved his arms slightly, checking to see if they worked. They ached, but he could still use them. He pressed two of his fingers against his neck, checking for the pulse. He couldn't find it. He checked his wrists. Still no pulse. Finally, he checked his chest, where his heart was. No pulse.  
Jake looked around frantically, wondering what was going on. He couldn't be a zombie, because he could think like a normal human, and didn't have the urge to eat human flesh. He noticed two people coming, so returned to his original pose, not moving. Maybe this was his chance to get out.  
The two scientists walked over to Jake Foreman's containment tube, and checked the monitors. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They typed in a code on the control panel, and the front of the tube hissed and slowly opened. As it did, Jake burst forward, falling onto the ground below. The two scientists jumped back from shock, then tried to pull out their tazers to stun him. Jake was too fast though, and grabbed the nearest scientist, twisting his neck and throwing his lifeless body at the other scientist. Jake wondered how he was so strong, then realized the other scientist charge at him with two tazers.  
Jake dodged him, grabbed the scientist's arm, and spun him round. He grabbed the scientist's head, and rammed it into the corner of his cryo-tube door. The blunt corner pierced through the scientist's skull, impaling him and leaving his dead body standing. Jake Searched the two scientists and found a key card on each of them. He took them both and started to run past countless tubes of bodies, all of which seemed dead. Jake wanted to know what had happened to him, but first knew that he had to get out of wherever he was. Suddenly, he remembered the others. Especially Anna. He stopped suddenly, remembering his friends, and the woman he'd fallen in love with. He put on a burst of speed much faster than before, determined to find them fast, despite not having a clue where they'd be.  



	12. Reunion

CHAPTER 12  
  
Anna and George walked down the stairs. They couldn't hear much, only the storm outside, and that seemed to be dieing down. They reached the bottom of the steps and heard loud gunfire, and both instantly drew their weapons. It took them a few seconds to realize the sounds had been from the television, and they both sighed quietly, putting their guns away and walking into the living room. Henry looked up at them, and shook Lucy. She woke up and looked up, then they both stood up.  
"Anything outside?" Anna asked, looking in the direction of the window. Henry shook his head.  
"No." he stated. George stopped the video using the remote, and the other two left the room to get some real sleep.  
  
Jake slowed down as he reached a corner of the corridor he was in, hearing voices approaching. He slid along the wall silently to the edge, listening to what sounded like two soldiers walking towards him. Jake remembered he had no weaponry, not to mention much clothing, but felt he could easily overpower the soldiers.  
They both turned the corner as Jake grabbed the nearest one by the neck and twisted it, snapping his neck and killing the soldier instantly. The second didn't have a chance to aim his assault rifle and fire in time, as Jake kicked the weapon from his hands, then swung his leg back, kicking the soldier in the face, and knocking him over. Jake jumped over the soldier and picked him up by his shoulders. The soldier suddenly kicked Jake in the kneecap hard, sending him off balance slightly, then smashed his elbow into Jake's head, knocking him onto his back. The soldier raised his foot to stamp on Jake's left foot, but Jake rolled backwards, just avoiding having his foot broken.  
Jake jumped up onto his feet with his back to the guard, and spun round, swinging his leg up into the air and catching the soldier in the side of the head. He flew into the wall, giving Jake the opportunity to pull the knife from the guard's belt and slice his throat open.  
The soldier slid to the floor against the wall, and Jake stood in silence incase anyone had heard the fight. Nobody had, and Jake quickly grabbed the closet body and started to remove his uniform.  
Jake looked at himself in the uniform. Maybe now it'd be easier to pass as one of the enemy. He removed the ammo clip from the pistol, and found out it was fully loaded. He knew the assault rifle would more or less be full, as the soldier never fired a shot. He took the other pistol from the other soldier, but left the remaining assault rifle as he would have more trouble carrying it. Jake then turned around and continued on down the corridor, trying to remember where the helicopters were.  
  
It was now bright outside, and everybody was awake and ready to move. George walked up to Alex. "How's the wound?" he asked, looking at the bloodied bandage wrapped around his arm. Alex looked at it.  
"Painful." he replied. George nodded, then opened the door. They all walked out of the house one by one into the deserted street. It was silent outside, except for the slight whistle of the breeze brushing past them. "Where are we gonna go?" Alex asked to everybody around him.  
"Well, we've tried the airport, and the secret military base, neither have worked." Anna explained.  
"What about a boat or something?" Trevor asked.  
"Damn! Why didn't I think of that?" Anna stated suddenly. "That's how we escaped Johnston Atoll!"  
"What?" Rachel asked.  
"The place where this virus broke out originally." George explained, already knowing the story.  
"You where there?" Alex questioned, surprised. Anna nodded.  
"That must mean you brought this thing over to America." Trevor realized. Everyone went silent.  
"We didn't do it on purpose..." Anna stated awkwardly. "Shit. Stuart must have been bitten before we got back. But God knows how, the boat was empty."  
"Maybe he caught it before he got on the boat." Henry suggested.  
"Impossible. He would have turned on the boat, and we'd have been killed." Anna said. "But we where told he was dead when we regained consciousness, and shortly after, all this started to happen."  
"So if this Stuart bloke didn't have the virus from the island, how the hell did this thing break out here?" Trevor asked, trying to make some sense of the story.  
"I don't know." Anna answered, trying to think. "Wait a second. I think I know who might have the answer."  
"Who?" Lucy asked her, wondering how she had thought of someone.  
"Just after we met George and his team, we got kidnapped by more Marines, right?" Anna started to explain. George nodded.  
"That's right. Tried to kill us too." he added.  
"They specifically picked out me, Jake and Michelle. We were the only survivors of the Johnston Atoll incident. There's no way that can just be coincidence." Dave and Kylie looked at each other.  
"Johnston Atoll?" Dave asked suddenly. "You were at Johnston Atoll?" Anna looked at him. She nodded.  
"Yeah." she said.  
"So where we." Dave stated, nodding his head towards Kylie. "We were captured by those guys as well."  
"You where at Johnston Atoll?" Anna asked, not believing them. They nodded. "How'd you escape?" she asked them.  
"Helicopter. This Captain Edwards guy helped us, just before flying off to help his team after we got this radio transmission." Kylie explained.  
"Christ, that was us!" Anna exclaimed.  
"Really?" Dave asked. "What happened to Edwards?"  
"He was killed." Anna stated, remembering watching the massive creature from the lab destroy the helicopter, not to mention the only proof of what happened on the island.  
"Shit." Kylie muttered.  
"Look, as much as this little reunion brings a tear to the eye, I'm sure that we're all a little eager to figure out what to do next." Alex broke in, a little impatient.  
"We head back to the base." Anna answered bluntly.  
"Are you out of your mind?" Henry asked. "That's suicide!"  
"We need to know how this all happened." Anna explained.  
"No we don't." Lucy stated. "I'd prefer to just get outta here than find out what started this only to die."  
"She's got a point." Trevor said. "There'll be other times to find out. But now isn't one of them."  
"Ok. You lot head for the port. I'm going back." Anna said.  
"You'll be killed." Henry told her.  
"Maybe. But I need to know." Anna replied.  
"So do we." Rachel stated. "But we'll do it together, and when it's safer."  
"Right now, we need you to help us." Henry told her. Anna stood where she was for a few moments, silent.  
"Ok. We'll find out another time." she said. "Now, let's get the hell outta here." Everyone turned around and walked to some parked cars.  
"We'll need more than one car. Get into groups." George stated. "The less people, the faster it'll go. I think."  
"Right." Henry said. "Who's taking the lead?"  
"I will." Alex stated. "I think I know the way, roughly."  
"Sorted." George exclaimed. "How many can hot wire?"  
"Me." Henry said.  
"Me to." Anna added.  
"I can." Trevor stated. George looked around at them.  
"Right, that's four of us. "What are the groups then?" Everyone moved to a car with the people they were going with. Henry and Lucy, George and Anna, Kylie and Dave, Alex and Rachel, and Trevor by himself. He looked at the others.  
"I drive quick. So you all better." he stated.  
"I'll hot wire your car." Anna told Alex.  
"I'll do that one." Henry added, pointing to Dave and Kylie's car.  
"Ok, let's start 'em up." George replied, and they started breaking into the vehicles and hot wiring them.  
  
Colonel Taylor sat at his desk in his office, looking at papers of the test results for the new project. He was busy reading through them, when suddenly a knock came from the door. "Come in." he called, not taking his eyes off the papers. Sargent Davies walked up to the desk and saluted the Colonel. "At ease, Sargent." Colonel Taylor stated.  
"Thank you, sir." Sargent Davies replied, standing normally. "Subject 87 has escaped." The Colonel looked up at him.  
"When was this?" he asked.  
"We've only just discovered the empty chamber. And he's already killed two scientists and two guards." Sargent Davies explained.  
"87. Wasn't he that survivor from Johnston Atoll? Foreman?" Colonel Taylor asked. Sargent Davies nodded.  
"That's correct, sir." he answered.  
"Do these things still have memories?" the Colonel asked.  
"The final result shows that no memory of their past life remains. However, Foreman escaped early, it's too hard to tell what has happened to him." Sargent Davies explained.  
"Ok. I want him captured and continued to be changed. I do not want him dead. He's too important." Colonel Taylor told the Sargent. "Ok, dismissed." Sargent Davies saluted the Colonel, then left the room. The Colonel sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating on what he'd heard.  
  
Jake squeezed his way through the maze of the secret base's ventilation system, not particularly knowing where he was going to end up. It was safer there than running around the corridors, though, so that was a bonus. Maybe he'd even end up finding where he and his friends had entered the base what seemed days ago.  
He turned round a corner, trying carefully not to make much noise. He could hear voices beneath him, and he stopped, listening in to the conversation. "Be careful, he's supposed to be dangerous." said a man, probably a soldier.  
"I know. He's already wasted 4 men, and he was unarmed." said another.  
"I thought this place was supposed to be state of the art, and still we allow one of them to escape."  
"What do we do, kill him?"  
"No. Our orders are still to capture the subject alive with as little damage as possible."  
"Better get started then." Jake heard the two guards walk down the corridor, and when everything was silent again, he continued his way through the ventilation system. After a few more turns, Jake came to a dead end, and a grating leading to a large, empty room. Jake peered down and listened carefully, and decided the room was empty. He slammed down on the grating a few times until it fell out of place, and dropped to the ground, the clattering echoing around the room. Jake cringed incase anybody heard the noise.  
Moments passed, and he realized he was safe. Jake crawled out of the vent and dropped to the ground, landing on his feet. He looked around, and ran to the wall beside the door. He listened for any noises from the corridor, and heard nothing. He gently opened the door, and took the assault rifle from around his neck, holding it steadily incase he saw anybody. He walked down the corridor, looking around for anybody. He hoped that if he was spotted, the uniform would fool them, and they'd leave him alone.  
Jake walked down the next corridor and recognized it almost immediately. He ran to the first door, and looked into the helicopter bay. He was in luck, there was 2 helicopters remaining. He ran towards the nearest one and checked it over. There was nobody in it, so he ran over to the cockpit and jumped in. He threw the assault rifle on the seat beside him and started the helicopter up. He took off, and flew out of the base as guards poured into the room. They fired up at him, but missed. Jake laughed at them as he flew away, out of site. Now he just had to find Anna and the others.  
  
Alex skidded the car round the corner, then punched it, speeding the car down the road. Behind him was Trevor, Henry and Lucy, and at the back was George and Anna. They'd been driving uninterrupted for ten minutes, and everyone hoped Alex knew where he was going. So did he.  
"You think we'll make it out of America alive?" Lucy asked Henry, breaking the silence in the car.  
"Positive." Henry replied. "We've got this far, be a shame to die now."  
"If I turn into one of those things out there, you'll kill me, right?" Lucy suddenly asked. Henry sat in silence for a while, wondering what to say.  
"No." he stated. "Because it's not gonna come to that."  
"How do you know?" Lucy questioned.  
"Just a hunch." Henry answered. "Trust me, we'll be fine." He took one hand of the wheel and took Lucy's hand, holding it gently. "Promise." Lucy looked at him and smiled.  
Suddenly, something landed on the bonnet of the car. Lucy screamed as Henry swerved to the side, but the creature was able to clutch onto the car with it's long claws. It looked like a zombie, only more mutated, with no skin and extremely sharp, long fingers. It looked in at the two humans, then raised one of it's claws to swing through the glass at them.  
Lucy pulled out her pistol and fired through the glass, hitting the creature directly in the chest. It lost it's grip and flew forwards, promptly getting run over by the wheels of the car. Henry looked at Lucy. "Wonder how many of them there are."  
Suddenly, they both noticed at least 8 of the creatures on each side of the road, some running beside the cars along the sidewalk, some on the roofs of buildings. "Too many by the looks of things." Lucy replied.  
Anna looked at the new enemies, then at George. "This doesn't look too good." she stated.  
"No, it doesn't." George replied. "Don't try shooting them yet, it'll be too hard to hit them, and we have to save ammo. Wait until they try getting closer." he explained. Anna nodded, watching the creatures and holding her gun tightly. Without warning, one of the creatures jumped at their vehicle, swinging it's claws wildly. Anna fired out of the window, punching holes in the creatures body.  
Trevor looked to his right and saw one of the pursuing creatures jump at him, and smash through the window. It got stuck half way in, and swiped at him, missing him by less than an inch. Trevor could feel the air hitting him from the attempted attacks, and swerved sideways towards a wall. He smashed the right side of the car along the wall of the nearest building, crushing the creature to death, and leaving a trail of blood along the building. Trevor watched as the remains of the creature finally fell out of the window. "Like a walk through the park." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, the car Alex and Rachel were in exploded into a cloud of flame, sending the car into the air. "Christ!" he yelled, driving straight under the airborne wreckage.  
Dave saw Alex's car explode, and looked up into the sky. He saw two fighter jets fly past them. They must have destroyed the car. "Oh, shit." he murmured.  
"Shit, shit!" Anna yelled, looking behind them as the planes started to turn back after them. "What do we do?" she asked frantically.  
"Drive fast and hope not to get blown up, I guess." George replied, trying to be calm. Both planes fired their mounted machine guns at the cars, tearing tiny craters into the tarmac beside them. Everyone ducked down as they heard the noise, swerving away from the bullets. A few struck their target on the remaining four cars, but not badly enough to do any real damage.  
Kylie looked out of her window and noticed the creatures had vanished, probably scared by the explosion and the sudden, deafening attack. More bullets hailed down around them, and she screamed, ducking down again as more hit the sides of the cars.  
Anna smashed her window open, and grabbed an assault rifle. She hung out of the gap slightly and aimed up at one of the planes flying overhead and fired. Her attack did next to nothing to the plane, and it flew past them unaffected.  
Suddenly, a missile smashed into the back of the plane, and it crashed into a nearby building, exploding violently, and sending wreckage out onto the road. The humans swerved to avoid it, and Anna looked up again and saw a military helicopter, similar to the one they used to escape the base, fly past and turn around. She didn't know who was helping them, but sure was pleased to see them.  
The remaining plane fired at George and Anna's car, striking it badly, shaking it violently and setting it on fire. "Shit!" George said. "Our car's fucked! I can't stop!" he yelled, frantic. The second plane exploded behind them, and crashed to the ground. The helicopter flew over the top of the car. George looked at Anna. She wasn't moving. "Anna!" George shouted. "Can you hear me?" She didn't reply. The helicopter flew down low over the car, and George smashed the sunroof out of the car. He tried to wake Anna up again, to no avail. He knew he didn't have much time before the car smashed into the upcoming corner, which would kill him and Anna, if she was even alive. He stood up and climbed to the roof of the car, and jumped up, grabbing the helicopter. He climbed up into it and jumped up next to the pilot.  
"Take the controls!" Jake ordered. George looked at him. He knew it was him.  
"You're alive!" He stated, a sense of joy and confusion overwhelming him. Jake opened his side of the helicopter, and hung down. George did as he said, and took over control of the chopper. Jake let himself drop onto the car, and leaned over the side, opening Anna's door. He looked up, and saw the car was about to crash. He ripped the seatbelt apart, and pulled Anna out onto a grassy patch next to them, and she rolled along the ground.  
Henry stopped the car and he and Lucy jumped out, seeing the car smash into the building, tearing a hole in it. Soon after, the car engine erupted, sending a fireball out into the road, and the remaining two cars stopped nearby, the passengers jumping out. They all ran over to Anna, and George landed the helicopter opposite them.  
Anna regained consciousness, and sat up, groaning. Henry ran over to her. "You ok?" he asked, looking at her face. It was cut slightly, but she looked ok for what had happened to her.  
"I'm fine." she answered. "What happened?" George ran over to them. Without saying anything, he looked at the destroyed building. He looked down at the ground.  
"Who was that?" Kylie asked, wondering who had saved them all. George didn't know if he should answer them, and stayed silent.  
"Hey, look..." Trevor stated, pointing at the wreckage of the building. Someone walked out and started to walk to them. They smoke made it hard to see who it was to start with, then they recognized him.  
"Oh my God..." Lucy muttered. Anna looked at the man.  
"Jake?" she whispered. He carried on walking, and saw she was ok. Anna jumped up, even though her leg hurt slightly, and ran over to him. "Jake!" she yelled, not caring about the pain, or her injured leg. He ran to her as well, and they hugged each other hard. "I thought I lost you!" she said, crying.  
"I couldn't just leave like that." Jake replied, then kissed her repeatedly. The others ran over to them, all wearing smiles on their faces. Jake stopped kissing Anna, and looked at them, smiling slightly. "Hi." he said, not knowing what to say. "I'm back." Trevor coughed slightly.  
"I must've missed something." he stated.  



	13. Last ticket out of Hell

CHAPTER 13  
  
After surveying the wreckage of Alex and Rachel's car, they knew there was no way they could have survived. Trevor looked at the others. "Anyone else know the way to the port?" Jake looked at Anna.  
"Port?" he asked. Anna smiled at him.  
"Worked before." she stated. He smiled back slightly.  
"There must be a map somewhere." Henry said. "There was before."  
"Maybe there's one in a shop somewhere. A tourist's guide to L.A. or something." Lucy backed him up.  
"They're right. We'll look for one." George stated. He walked over to what looked like a small store and pushed at the door. It was locked shut. He looked at the lock, and stood back slightly. He raised his foot, and slammed it into the side of the door where the lock was. The door swung open, smashing into the wall next to it. George walked in and looked around. The place looked trashed. George pulled his beretta from it's holster as Henry followed him.  
"You lot stay here. Keep an eye out for anything." Henry said to the others, then stood near to George, studying the mess. "Looks like something bad happened here." he stated.  
"It doesn't make sense." George muttered. "Why would people trash this place, then lock it again?" Henry didn't answer, and tightened the grip on his weapon. They slowly looked around the shop. George picked up a screwed up scrap of paper and unfolded it to reveal a map of L.A., then folded it back up and placed it in his pocket. "Got it." he told Henry.  
"Get down!" Henry replied. At first Gorge wondered what he was doing, then suddenly dropped to the floor. Henry pulled the trigger of his gun twice, and George heard something crash to the ground behind him. He turned around and saw a dead zombie, two bullet holes in the center of it's skull. George looked back at Henry, then stood up, brushing himself down.  
"Thanks." he said. He glanced back at the zombie, then they made their way back out of the shop.   
"Get the map?" Kylie asked them both. George took it out of his pocket.  
"Right here." he answered. He opened it up, and they all gathered around it. George found the port. "There." he said. "I should be able to find it now."  
"Ok then." Jake replied. "I think it would be better to abandon the chopper, it draws too much attention."  
"Right then." Dave stated. "Let's get going before more of those guys turn up."  
"Ok." George replied. He pointed at Trevor. "We'll lead." Trevor nodded, and ran to the car. Dave and Kylie grabbed their one, as did Henry and Lucy. Jake looked around, then at the wreckage of the car, still in flames.  
"That was our car, wasn't it?" he asked. Anna nodded. Jake sighed, and they both opened the doors to the back of Henry's one.   
  
"We've lost another two fighter planes near to the base, sir." Sargent Davies informed the colonel. "We believe it was Foreman."  
"How can you be sure?" Colonel Taylor asked.  
"Foreman escaped using a helicopter from the base. The last radio transmission from one of the jets declared they were under attack by a military helicopter." Sargent Davies explained. "We've sent out another four planes to the position, which will then search the area. We also have the helicopter on tracer, but it has not moved from it's location for several minutes now."  
"Good work, Davies." Colonel Taylor said. "Inform me the moment anything is discovered."  
"Ok, sir." Davies replied, and left the room.  
  
Trevor skidded the car to a halt at the Port of Los Angeles, and the others stopped right behind him. They stepped out of their separate cars and studied the area. "Here we are." George stated. "Our last ticket out of Hell."  
"Place looks deserted." Kylie said, still wary. They all walked away from the cars, holding their weapons tight until they determined that there was no threat on the port.  
"What is it with the sudden lack of evil critters lately?" Jake asked everyone. "Back at the island, there seemed to be millions. Here there's hardly any."  
"Isn't that a good thing?" Henry asked him.  
"Yeah, it is. Just a bit strange, that's all." Jake replied.  
"I don't wanna stick around for when we find them. Let's just get a boat and get the hell outta here." Lucy stated. Anna nodded, and walked over to one of the nearby boats. It was fairly big, larger than the one she and Jake used to escape Johnston Atoll.  
"This one looks good enough." she exclaimed, looking at the others.  
"I'll go look for some more engine oil incase we run out halfway." Jake declared.  
"I'll help." George added, and they both ran towards the nearby warehouse. The inside of the large, metal building was dark and silent. The sunlight from outside penetrated the small holes where the metal had rusted away, and in the plastic windows either side of the place. Jake and George walked along slowly, looking for any oil containers for the boat. They reached some stairs, when they heard something bang upstairs.  
"What was that?" Jake asked, trying to be as quiet as he could.  
"I don't know." George whispered back, taking his pistol out again. "Let's find out." Jake did the same, and went up the stairs first. He slowly made his way up to the top floor, and peered along the floor. He could see nothing yet, so slowly and silently stood up to see the whole of the room.  
On top of one of the long wooden tables was a long clawed creature, which George recognized as one of the ones that they'd seen in the cars before Jake returned. It hadn't spotted them yet. Jake made a hand signal to George telling him to wait there, and quietly made his way up onto the same level as the creature. He suddenly kicked a metal can, and it clattered across the floor. Jake held his breath as the creature heard him and turned around to see him.  
  
"What the hell's taking them so long?" Anna questioned, worrying. She pulled herself up off the boat and onto the concrete ground.  
"They'll be fine. They'll be here soon." Henry reassured her. Anna looked at the building again.  
"I'm gonna go check on them. Wait here." she ordered. Before the others could argue, she ran towards the warehouse, pistol drawn. Lucy sighed, and walked back into the wheel house where Dave, Kylie and Trevor was. Henry stayed looking at the port, when he heard something. Slight thuds. They got slightly louder each time, and Henry crouched a bit lower. He suddenly remembered where he'd heard the sound before. When they were under attack from the Giants. Henry panicked, and ran back into the wheel house, and twisted the keys in the ignition.  
"What are you doing?" Trevor asked, noticing the others weren't on the boat yet.  
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing." Henry replied as he ran to untie the boat from the dock. As he did, he saw one of the Giants turn the corner behind the warehouse. Henry pushed the dock, sending the boat out slightly, and ran back into the wheel house. He started the boat forward as the Giant spotted them, and it thundered toward them. The others looked at it in horror, wondering if it could jump to the boat, but it stopped on the side of the dock, and roared at them, raising it's arms at the same time.  
  
Anna walked to the stairs of the warehouse, oblivious to the dangers both outside and upstairs. She could hear nothing except the wind outside, and maybe some slight thudding outside. "Jake?" she called quietly, trying not to alert anything hiding.  
The creature looked at Jake menacingly, then continued with what it was doing. It was feasting upon the corpse of a man, probably who hid here until the creature attacked. "Jake?" came Anna's voice, startling Jake, George, and the creature. It looked up again, listening for the voice again.  
"Don't come up here." Jake stated, not taking his eyes off the creature, slowly going for his gun. The creature swayed slightly, determining where it's prey's voice was coming from, then spotted George's non-moving body trying to hide. George noticed it spot him.  
"Oh, shit..." he murmured, and the creature gave out a high pitched roar. It crashed through the junk on the table towards George, and both he and Jake drew their weapons quickly and fired at it. The creature was flung sideways off the table and into a pile of canisters, making a loud crashing noise. Anna ran up the stairs to see what was going on, and saw the dead creature. Jake looked around a bit more, and spotted his prize.  
He picked up the large, plastic barrel of engine oil, and looked at the other two. "Finally we can get out of here." he stated. A loud roaring made all three of them jump, and George looked out of the window to see a Giant on the side of the dock where the boat was, which now was in the middle.  
"Not yet." he replied, turning to the others. "We're stuck."  
"Shit." Anna exclaimed, looking at the creature. The gunshots hadn't seemed to alert it of their location. "If we can signal to the others on the boat, they could get to the edge of the dock long enough for us to get on."  
"I think I know how." Jake stated. The other two looked at him, wondering how he could do that. "This creature didn't attack me. It definitely knew I was here, but it did nothing. When I was in the vents on the base, I heard something about a test subject escaping. That was obviously me."  
"What are you saying?" Anna asked him.  
"I think I have the Omega virus in me." he declared.  
"Omega virus?" George questioned, not hearing the name before.  
"It's what Doctor Willow called it when he discovered it. It's what turns living creatures into these monsters." Jake explained.  
"That's impossible." Anna stated. "Humans affected with the virus turn into zombies. You're not a zombie."  
"I know." Jake replied. "I'm something else. I died back in that base. I was brought back. Look." He grabbed Anna's hand and rested her fingers on his neck, near to his wound, which had healed up slightly. She felt no pulse. She looked at him, shocked.  
"Christ..." she whispered.  
"I don't know what I am." Jake stated. "All I know is that I can't be killed by an exploding car, and that these creatures won't attack me. That's gonna be helpful."  
"He's right." George said.  
"What I'll do is go out there and call the others back. The creature out there won't attack me, so I'll be safe. You two hide up, and when the boat's almost to the edge, run like hell and jump on." Jake explained. Anna was still feeling his neck for a pulse. He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "I'm still me." he told her, then kissed her gently. As soon as they broke apart, he ran down the stairs, oil drum in hand.  
Jake ran out into the open, and the Giant turned around to see him. It looked at him for a moment, then returned it's attention to the boat. Jake ran to the edge of the dock. "Hey!" he yelled. He saw Henry run out of the wheel house to the side of the boat. "Try and get as close as you can so we can jump on!"  
"What about that!" Henry yelled back, pointing at the Giant. "Hey, why isn't it attacking you?"  
"I'll explain later!" Jake shouted. Get as close as you can! I'll throw this on first!" Henry nodded, and ran back to the wheel house. He started directing the boat towards the dock. As soon as it was close enough, Jake hurled the oil drum aboard, and Trevor ran to it to make sure it wasn't burst. Jake looked at the Giant, which was lumbering towards the nearest part of the dock to the boat.  
  
"How do we get past that thing?" Anna whispered to George, crouched behind a bundle of crates.  
"I'm not sure." George replied. "I think I know a way."  
"What is it?" Anna asked.  
"As soon as that things far enough away, run to the boat." George answered.  
"Ok. But how are we gonna get that thing out of the way in the first place?" Anna replied, wondering how this plan was going to work anyway. Without answering, George ran out from the cover and past the warehouse. "George!" Anna shouted, but was too late.  
The Giant turned to see George running nearby, and roared. Jake turned to see him. "What are you doing?" he yelled.  
"Saving your asses!" George answered, waving his arms at the Giant. It lumbered towards him. "Go!" he yelled. Anna hesitated, then ran to the edge of the dock to Jake.  
"Quickly!" she shouted. "You can make it!"  
"Get on the boat!" Jake ordered. Anna jumped on, and Jake ran after George and the Giant pursuing him. He turned the corner just in time to see the Giant skewer George on it's huge claw, and throw him against the metal wall of the warehouse, which broke under the pressure. Jake instantly knew his friend was dead, and ran back to the boat. He jumped on, and Henry pulled away, and started the boat out to sea. Anna and Dave ran over to Jake. "George is dead." Jake stated.  
"Shit..." Anna murmured. They heard another roar as the Giant reappeared from behind the warehouse. Henry, Lucy, Trevor and Kylie ran to meet them on the boat.  
"We're ok." Henry said. "We're gonna be ok."  
"About bloody time." Trevor exclaimed. "Just as long as we find land before we die of natural causes. It'd be a real shame if that happened."  
"Right now, some of us could do with sleep." Lucy declared. "I know I'm one of them."  
"Same here." Kylie added.  
"Ok, there'll be a cabin probably below us with beds and stuff. Whoever needs the rest, can finally do so." Jake told them. He walked to the wheel house and looked for the cabin door. He found it and opened it up. It was empty. He walked down into it, and turned on the light. The room lit up after a few moments, and there was four beds. "Grab them while you can." he told the others. Lucy, Kylie, Dave, Trevor and Anna walked down. There was enough for one each, except Kylie and Dave, who decided to share one.  
"No funny business." Trevor stated. "I'm below you, remember."  
"Alright, alright." Dave laughed slightly. Anna rolled over and looked at Jake, who was still standing there.  
"You're not sleeping?" she asked. Jake shook his head.  
"Don't need any." he replied. He walked over to her and knelt down. "You get some rest. You look like you need it." Anna smiled.  
"Ok." she said. Jake kissed her, then hugged her tightly for a few moments.  
"I love you." he whispered in her ear.  
"I love you too." she replied. They kissed again, then Jake left the cabin, closing the door behind him after turning off the light. Jake looked outside. It was starting to get dark. Henry was sitting on a chair grafted into the wall.  
"Not sleeping?" Jake asked.  
"No. I'm fine." Henry replied. Jake sat on another chair. He looked around and saw a packet of cigarettes on a small table, along with a box of matches. He smiled slightly and picked them up. He took one out and offered Henry one. He took one, and Jake slung the packet back. He struck a match against the grainy side of the box, and the tip erupted into a small flame. Jake used it to light his cigarette, then chucked the box to Henry, who did the same.  
"So," Jake said suddenly. "How have you found L.A.?"  
"It wasn't too bad. Well, up until this whole thing started." Henry replied. Jake laughed slightly. "How long have you and Anna been together?"  
"During the original outbreak on Johnston Atoll." Jake answered, taking in another lungful of smoke. "Seems like a long time. It's not long really. Maybe just over a week." There was more silence. "We made it, man." Jake stated, almost laughing. Henry smiled.  
"Too right." he replied. "You almost didn't though."  
"Yup. Good job they did whatever they did to me."  
"What did they do anyway?"  
"Use the virus to bring me back." Henry looked at him, shocked. "It's ok, I'm not like the other infected things. I just have their powers, or something. They were making a super race of soldiers I think. here was hundreds like me there."  
"Christ." Henry said. "I'm glad we're not around to see them."  
"Yeah." Jake replied. "But that's all behind us now. No more death and destruction."  
"Where are we going, anyway?" Henry asked, looking out into the distance.  
"Wherever. We can start again. The smaller the place, the less likely that goddamn virus'll have got there." Jake answered. "I think we'll do alright now."  
  
Deep within the military base, sirens blared out throughout the complex. A tinny, mechanical female voice stated "Warning. Unauthorized opening of chambers 1 through 59, 73 75, 84 through 103..." every now and then, and every time adding another number as more of the creatures escaped. The place was filled with these sirens, and also screams of dying men and gunfire which never stopped.  
Colonel Taylor sat at his desk, with his head in his hands. He had his pistol layed on his desk, and he listened to the mayhem outside. His entire base wa being overrun by the captures and tests they had made. He looked up slightly as his door was buckling under the pressure of creatures trying to get in from outside. He picked up his pistol and pointed it to the side of his head.  
The door smashed open, and a wave of zombies, and other ungodly monsters poured into the room. Colonel Taylor pulled the trigger.  
Sargent Davies walked into the room, none of the creatures bothered to attack him as they fed off the body of the colonel. He smiled at the feeding frenzy. "Welcome to the new beginning. Sir." he said, then turned around and slowly walked out of the room.  
  
THE END 


End file.
